


Wild Wolf

by pandanyan



Series: Wild Wolf [1]
Category: Free!, Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Crossover, Dirty Dancing, M/M, Office AU, Pole Dancing, Strippers & Strip Clubs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-10-02 05:17:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10210415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandanyan/pseuds/pandanyan
Summary: CEO of Tagutive Corp, Taguchi Junnosuke hopes to be the best CEO he can be, but his shameless puns and scatterbrained demeanor says otherwise. Taguchi doesn't know if he should be enchanted or terrified for his life once his new PA walks through his office door.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Transferred over from my LJ account. Office AU! JunDa with cameos from other Johnnys in future chapters.

 

 

 

Another Monday morning and another half hour of shuffling through the rush hour crowd to his destination. Taguchi Junnosuke, CEO of Tagutive Corp, with his pristine navy blue suit and sleek black hair combed neatly to the side and his winning smile was currently running for his life to catch the 7.30am train.

“WAAIT!!!” He called out to no one in particular as he neared the platform only to watch in agony as the train with its doors shut tight began to move away to the next station.

He tripped on a small crack on the ground and splashed his morning coffee a little on his suit. “No! Dammit.” Taguchi whined and checked his watch. As he took out his handkerchief to dab away the coffee stains from his suit, he yelped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Relax, Junno. The next train’s in 15 minutes, you don’t have to be a drama queen every single time.” Kamenashi Kazuya, head of sales and marketing smirked at him, calmly sipping his own take-away cup of coffee. Taguchi huffed, “That’s no way to talk to your boss, Kame. Besides…I like the 7.30 train.” Taguchi whined and the man beside him shook his head. They’ve known each other since college and when it was finally time for Taguchi to take over his father’s company, he knew exactly who to hire as his sales and marketing director. Kamenashi had a weird way of manipulating people with his charms, both men and women and Taguchi knew that skill would come in handy in his favour.

Despite that, there were always drawbacks in having your close friend work for you. “Please, the only reason why you like that train so much is because of that stupid cartoon of that stupid seal you doodled in 2nd year.”

Taguchi moped, “It’s a work of art okay? It even has my initials and all. I’m proud of it.”

The 7.45 train came and both men managed to find a decent place to stand before the mad rush of a crowd of office workers and students began piling in. Taguchi cursed as the train jerked slightly causing him to spill his coffee on himself again, “This is why I hate the 7.45 train! The 7.30 train never does this to me.” He grunted.

“Maybe you should just stop buying coffee.” Kamenashi supplied and Taguchi gave him a look, “Or better yet, Junno. You have a company car. Use it.” He deadpanned.

The taller man shook his head stubbornly, “Never. As a responsible leader, I expect to go through the same daily struggles as the rest of my team members.”

“Your secretary drives a sports car.”

“His situation’s different! That’s not even his own car and he’s terrified of driving it himself.” Taguchi grumbled as his coffee spilt on him once more.  
“Seriously, buy water next time.”

 

**********************

 

It was 8.30am sharp and Taguchi and Kamenashi strode in through the elegant glass doors to Tagutive Corp. It was a small company with less than 50 employees that specialized in providing motivational talks and training programmes for clients across various industries. ‘Spread Positivity with Tagutivity!’ was the company’s tagline and despite its small size, the team managed to secure an impressive clientele with 100% satisfaction guaranteed…that is, until Taguchi took over three years ago.

“Taguchi-san, Kamenashi-san, good morning!” Chirped Taguchi’s secretary cum HR director from the front desk, a bright feel-good smile on his face. Tachibana Makoto was in fact, Taguchi’s cousin and there was no doubt the two were related. They both shared the same tall and lanky build and good-natured personalities. Tachibana was young, just freshly graduated from high school, but he was more than competent in his role in the company despite his lack of qualifications and experience. Plus the fact that everyone loved him for his sweet and gentle demeanor, he was the company’s darling so to speak.

Taguchi flashed a smile of his own at his secretary while Kamenashi winked before heading to his desk, “Mako-chan, when will you stop the formalities? It’s me you’re talking to.” Taguchi smiled and ruffled the younger man’s sandy brown locks. Tachibana winced at the treatment and immediately moved his hands to fix his hair, “Sorry, Junno-nii.” He muttered looking as if he was just found guilty for kicking a puppy. “Ah, by the way, you have a meeting with a new client this afternoon at 4.30pm, I just called the company to confirm.” Tachibana spoke as he referred to a stack of mint green post-it notes on his desk. Taguchi nodded and was about to head into his room.

“Oh and another thing,” Tachibana stopped him, “I finally found you a PA, he’ll be stopping by at 10.”

Taguchi blinked and walked backwards to stand in front of his secretary, “When did I say I needed a PA?” He asked incredulously, sure his cousin was more than enough help with scheduling his meetings and taking care of all the general business with the employees, heck he’d say Tachibana was a godsend. As a good CEO, Taguchi was sure he was competent enough to function without any additional assistance.

Tachibana chewed his bottom lip, “Um…well…ojisan asked me to…I thought you knew.” He uttered in the smallest voice possible.

“WHAT!?” Taguchi snapped making the other man wince and several employees to peer over their dividers to have a look at what the commotion was about. “Back to work, nothing to see here.” Taguchi hissed.

Scratching the side of his cheek nervously Tachibana fiddled through a stack of papers before finally pulling out a file, “Well…you do have some trouble…um…organizing yourself. Plus the things you say to clients are a little…” Tachibana hesitated before looking up at Taguchi nervously, “I didn’t want to show you this but…here.” He passed the file over to the CEO and Taguchi frowned as his flipped through its contents, it was full of client complaints…about him specifically.

“My puns are catchy! What do they mean by annoying!?” Taguchi blurted out loud causing a few snorts from the marketing side of the office, “Shut up, Kame!”

Tachibana sighed, “I suggested to ojisan that maybe what we need is someone who can handle PR or something but he said the problem lies in…you and…” He checked his boss’s face for any sign of anger before continuing, “Well, yeah…he asked me to find someone to assist you specifically.”

Taguchi wasn’t mad, he could never be mad at his baby cousin nor his own father. He was mad at himself for making him seem like a bad leader, “Mou…Mako-chan~~ am I really that bad?” He whined and Tachibana just laughed and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’re not, you just need someone to support you that’s all.” He smiled.

“Isn’t that what you’re for?” He grumbled and with a nervous laugh Tachibana quickly shook his head, “Oh no, no, I’m just helping around with the really trivial stuff that’s all. You need someone a little…firmer?”

“Someone who isn’t afraid to nag me into doing my work?” Taguchi deadpanned. Bingo, that was exactly it.

Tachibana smiled and nodded, “More or less, yes. And I think I found the perfect candidate, just take a few moments to get to know him and I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Taguchi sighed and walked over to his room again, “Okay, just buzz me when he gets here.” As he closed his door he frowned and walked over to his full length mirror just behind his desk - there solely for motivational purposes, he swears. With a deep breath Taguchi calmed himself down before looking at his reflection with determination.

“Iriguchi Deguchi Taguchi-desu~! Let’s get Tagutive!” He chirped happily with animated hand gestures. He paused with a grin on his face as he stared at himself before releasing a sigh and shook his head,

“Stupid clients can’t appreciate good puns when they hear them.”

 

***********************

10am sharp, the elevator dinged and the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard plonking down the corridor. He looked down at his shoes; maybe he shouldn’t have worn his thick leather boots to a meeting with a potential boss. Shrugging he tapped on the glass door, watching the smiling young man behind the front desk press a button to let him in.

“Good morning! Welcome to Tagutive Corp. How may I help you?” Tachibana took off his headset and rested it around his neck as he spoke, making sure to give a gentle smile to the newcomer.

“I’m here for the PA position.” The man spoke.

Tachibana blinked before searching his desk for a file – the man’s CV. He glanced at the picture on said CV and back at the man in front of him.

“Ueda Tatsuya?”

Ueda stared at the incredulous look on the man’s face with a slight frown. The man looked pleasant and sweet despite his tall stature, it was almost endearing seeing him tower over his work station like that. But the weird stare he was getting was kind of getting on his nerves, “Yes….and you are?” Ueda tilted his head and eyed Tachibana.

Surprised, the secretary stood up and completely removed his headset, “Oh, I’m so sorry about that. I just…um…your picture…” He stared at the passport-sized photo of a man, with copper coloured hair in a bob cut, he looked soft yet his eyes showed determination and his mouth was pressed in a firm line showing that he didn’t take any nonsense from no one.

He looked back up at the man in front of him, short, spikey blond hair, his jawline was more prominent in person and his lips were fuller. There was a band-aid on his left cheek and he wore an old dusty brown jacket over a rumpled maroon dress shirt with the first three buttons undone with baggy cargo pants and thick, chunky leather boots. Tachibana gulped, he looked like he was ready to rob the place.

“Yeah, that’s an old picture from three years ago.” Ueda spoke.

Tachibana smiled again and nodded, “Okay, I’m Tachibana Makoto, Taguchi-san’s secretary and head of HR, we spoke on the phone last week.” He extended his hand for a friendly handshake and was shocked at the strong grip Ueda had. “Um…yes, let me just get a hold of Taguchi-san for you.” He picked up the phone and dialed Taguchi’s extension, gesturing for Ueda to take a seat in the waiting area near the door he just came through.

 

**************************

 

“Argh damn it!” Taguchi spat as he lost yet again on a level of Puzzle and Dragons. He glanced at his computer screen at the awaiting opening speech he had to write before looking back at his mobile phone, “Maybe just one more try.”

Before he could press the ‘retry’ button his office phone rang. “The PA candidate, Ueda-san is here to see you. Shall I bring him in with his CV?”  
Flustered, Taguchi threw his mobile into his desk drawer and watched as it landed on his 3DS, “Err, yes, yes. Send him in.”

He straightened himself out while looking at the mirror to check if he had his authoritative posture going on before crossing his legs and leaning back in his office chair. The door opened with Tachibana leading in a much shorter blond man into his office. He widened his eyes at the man, was he a yankee or something? Even with Tachibana standing next to him this guy sure looked scary as he eyed him with a slight furrow in his brow and a curt nod.

“Taguchi-san, this is Ueda Tatsuya. Ueda-san, this is our company’s CEO, Taguchi Junnosuke.”

Taguchi nodded and stood from his seat and they shook hands, “Good to finally meet you, Ueda-san.” He used his powerful CEO-like voice and winning smile. Ueda just eyed him incredulously before smiling back hesitantly, “Yeah, good to meet you too.” His voice was deep and a little husky, Taguchi wasn’t sure if he liked it or if he was still scared this guy was planning on mugging him.

“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk as he took his seat as well. Tachibana handed him Ueda’s CV, “His picture’s old.” He whispered before bowing and leaving the room.

He watched his secretary leave with a puzzled look on his face, before looking down and opening the file, his eyes widened as he saw what Tachibana meant, he looked at the picture and then at Ueda in front of him.

“You’re gorgeous!” He exclaimed, completely dropping the power-CEO tone and sounding like some fanboy to a super famous pop idol.

Ueda raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

Taguchi’s eyes widened realizing his slip-up, “Um…I mean…ahem.” He cleared his throat before squinting at the CV, he reached for his glasses on his desk not because it helped him see better but because glasses make anyone look more professional and more successful, that’s what Taguchi thought at least.

“So, Ueda-kun.” He began and could’ve sworn he saw the man twitch a little upon hearing his name being said so casually like that. “I won’t ask you to tell me more about yourself, since that’s pretty cliché huh?” He laughed out loud expecting the man to laugh along with him and faltered a little when Ueda just stared at him back with that intense look.

“So, have you heard of the term ‘Tagutivity’?” Taguchi asked with an encouraging smile.

After a brief pause, Ueda leaned forward in his seat, “I can’t say I have but something tells me you’re going to explain that to me anyway.” He spoke with an air of confidence; it was as if he was challenging Taguchi head-on.

Taguchi raised his eyebrows in amazement. Feisty. Not bad. He nodded, “Good perception, Ueda-kun. In fact, Tagutivity is sort of our main product that we’re selling to our clients. It’s like positivity only better.”

“It’s just positivity with your name worked in there.”

“I...yes, I know that. But it’s our main gimmick that we’re going for and so far we’ve had some pretty good regular clients. We promote the spread of Tagutivity and happiness among the working class members of society and-“

Ueda cut him off, “That’s an interesting story and all, Taguchi-san but I’m much more interested in what my role will be in your company.” Ueda cut him off smoothly with no sign of hesitation in his face.

Blunt, direct and straight to the point. A little rough around the edges, but he seemed like a decent yet still scary guy.

“Ah, well…” Taguchi laughed a little, “Basically you’ll be my right-hand man. You’ll be there to help me with ongoing projects as well as upcoming ones and also to help with the organisation of tasks.”

Ueda nodded in understanding, “I don’t have to go to these brainwashing sessions of yours do I?”

At that, Taguchi spluttered, “It’s…I…they’re not brainwashing sessions!” he nearly whined. There was an awkward silence in the air before Taguchi sighed and shook his head, “Not unless I really need you there, we usually have a whole team set up for this but yeah, I usually handle these pretty well.” He said with pride, completely ignoring the folder full of client complaints he read earlier this morning.

The blond nodded again before moving to stand up, “Fair enough, I accept.”

“Wait…I didn’t even say…”

“Is there anyone else applying for the job?”

“I…um…Tachibana-kun said he found you so I guess…not?”

“Then I accept the job offer.”

Taguchi sighed, and nodded, “Tachibana, prepare an offer letter for Ueda-kun please.” He buzzed on his speaker phone and watched as Ueda had a smug look on his face. Taguchi gulped, this man was trouble, he could just feel it.


	2. Part 2

Tuesday morning, 8am. Ueda eyed his reflection in the elevator, maybe he should’ve opted for some slightly looser pants, the slacks he wore were hugging him in all the right places…except not so right to be worn in the workplace. Ruffling his hair a little he clicked his tongue and opened up the second button on his black dress shirt, at least he ironed it this time but buttoning it up all the way was stifling. At least he looked slightly more professional than yesterday with an added on grey blazer jacket and proper work shoes.

He frowned at his reflection once again; nope he still looked like a yakuza thug. But maybe this would work to his advantage in some way. That CEO, his new boss, looked to be a little on the wimpish side he could tell.

The elevator dinged and he walked to the glass doors. Tachibana was already seated at the front desk looking as fresh as a daisy with a bright smile on his face as usual as he waved at Ueda before letting him in. No sane human could look that fresh at 8 in the morning; he should ask Tachibana what the man was taking because he sure wanted some. 

“Good morning, Ueda-san. How are you today?” He smiled and Ueda just nodded back,

“Okay I guess, traffic was heavy.” He muttered.

Tachibana visibly brightened up a little more if that was possible, “Oh you drive? That’s great. Taguchi-san’s always so stubborn to drive. He insists on taking the train every day.” He sighed before giving Ueda a blank white card, “Here’s your access pass to get in and out of the office just in case I’m not here to beep you in. We usually have our pictures on the ID pass but I’ll get to yours within this week.” He explained before standing up. “Let me show you around the office and introduce you to the team while we wait for Taguchi-san to come in.”

Ueda followed Tachibana around as the younger man showed him around the quaint office, the meeting rooms, pantry, restrooms, “Ano…Ueda-san do you smoke?” He asked hesitantly and Ueda shrugged,

“Not so much, why?”

Tachibana smiled, “Well I shouldn’t be telling you this but if you ever have the urge, the employees smoke at the stairwell behind there.” He pointed, “Taguchi-san more or less frowns on this since it’s an unhealthy habit but some of the employees get a little…antsy if they don’t have a smoke so he just keeps one eye closed about it.” He smiled encouragingly. Ueda raised his eyebrows, “Hm…well that’s thoughtful of him.”

The secretary chuckled lightly, “Yeah, well ‘a good CEO puts his employees first,’ that’s what Taguchi-san says.” 

Ueda snorted, “And a good CEO comes 30 minutes late to work?”

Tachibana laughed out loud this time, “He loves his trains remember? It’s just that he usually has the worst luck with them, he either misses them or gets on the wrong line. It’s funny to watch him still try though.”

They rounded a corner to where the workstations were and Tachibana neared the men closest to them, a charming man with elegant wavy black hair wearing a crisp black suit, “This is Kamenashi Kazuya, our head of sales and marketing.” Tachibana introduced as the man gave Ueda a quick glance before giving a feline-like smile and standing up, offering his hand.

“Kamenashi-san, this is Ueda Tatsuya, Taguchi-san’s new PA.” Tachibana spoke as they shook hands. Kamenashi’s previously calm and collected expression swiftly changed into a curious one and eyed Ueda with renewed interest, “Oh? Junno’s finally getting himself a PA?”

He eyed Ueda up and down before smirking, “Tell me, since he’s not here what do you think of our CEO?” He asked with a glint in his eye and Tachibana had a flustered smile on his face, “Kamenashi-san I don’t think…”

“Overenthusiastic idiot who doesn’t know when to quit but he’ll still keep going even though he knows he’s failing horribly.” Ueda answered bluntly, ignoring the utterly mortified look Tachibana was giving him.

Kame nodded and winked, “And you got that just from meeting him once?” He laughed, “I think we’ll get along just fine then.” He patted Ueda on his back before sitting back down, “Nice meeting you Ueda-kun.” He nodded before Tachibana brought him over to meet the next worker. 

After meeting a few other people, they reached another area of workstations, “Here’s the finance department.” Tachibana gestured to the group of bespectacled men concentrated on their respective computer screens.

“This’s our head of finance, Nakamaru Yuichi.” Tachibana gestured to one of the men with a particularly large nose in a simple purple dress shirt and slacks. The man looked up at Ueda awkwardly, “New hire?” He said in surprise and Tachibana nodded, “Ueda Tatsuya, Taguchi-san’s new PA.”  
They shook hands and Nakamaru slowly regarded him, “Finally someone who can kick some sense into Junno, I’ve been trying to all these years. Do you know how many video game consoles he’s bought under the company’s account?” It looked like Nakamaru was about to complain further but with another uneasy laugh Tachibana quickly steered Ueda away, “Oh look at the time, we should get to your work station.”

They walked around the office and stopped a corner somewhere near the front desk. There was one lone workstation right outside a glass door with the sign ‘Taguchi Junnosuke- CEO’ on it. Ueda frowned seeing a few more words written right above the sign in what looked like a sharpie marker, ‘Iriguchi deguchi Taguchi desu!’

“Shouldn’t the cleaners get rid of that graffiti before Taguchi gets in?”

Tachibana was in the middle of setting up Ueda’s computer for him before giving a brief glance at the door, “Oh! That’s not graffiti, just Taguchi-san’s way of brightening up his office.” He chuckled before gesturing the desk, “Well, here’s where you’ll be working, though during the busier times of the year you’ll probably be spending more time in Taguchi-san’s office. I’ve prepared a document with everything you need to know about Taguchi-san’s schedule, clients and ongoing projects so take your time in referring to that. If you need me you know where to find me.” He nodded over to the front desk that was just around the corner. He could practically wave at Tachibana whenever he liked if he wanted to.

Ueda nodded and watched as Tachibana returned to his desk, putting his headset back on and got right back to work on answering calls that were previously on hold. Just as he was about to get accustomed to his new work area, he heard the beeping of the glass door and looked up to watch Taguchi rush in. The man nodded at Tachibana as he strode in, wearing a grey suit with a white shirt underneath and a blue striped tie.

The man paused for awhile, surprised to see Ueda and he could only nod in greeting, “Morning.” He watched as Taguchi fiddled with his briefcase and take away cup of coffee before nodding encouragingly, “Ah, good morning Ueda-kun! Welcome aboard. Did Mako-chan show you around the place?”  
Ueda glanced at Tachibana who was now busily typing away on his computer, “Yeah, I guess?” Taguchi nodded and made his way to his room, “Good, good, if you need anything feel free to give me a buzz.” He said as he went in.

Ueda shrugged and went back to referring to Taguchi’s schedule, sighing he picked up his phone and rang Taguchi’s extension.

“Aha, need something so soon, Ueda-kun?” God, Ueda thought, this guy’s voice was even more enthusiastic over the phone.

“Just letting you know that you have a meeting with Hanamura-san from Exco in an hour. Also, you have coffee stains all over your shirt.” Ueda spoke in monotone and couldn’t help but smirk at the sound of agony coming from Taguchi’s room, oh this’ll be fun.

He went through all he needed to know about his tasks within the next 15 minutes. Satisfied with his progress he decided to check in on his new boss. He walked in to Taguchi clad in a white singlet and was frantically fanning at his coffee-stained shirt that hung from the window sill. He turned around and tried to manage a smile while pointing at his semi-damp shirt. “I tried to remove the coffee stains…what’s wrong with your eyes?” Taguchi nearly cowered in the corner at the wild-eyed look his PA gave him.

Actually, Ueda was just trying really hard not to laugh out loud in his boss’s face. “You…have three meetings with very important clients today.” He spoke before stepping closer to his boss’s desk, placing both palms on the wooden surface and staring the man dead in the eye.

He just stayed that way and Taguchi squirmed even more, “Whaaat? There’s no way this shirt’s gonna dry before Hanamura-san gets here! Help me here.”

Ueda couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle, Taguchi looked so pitiful and yet so good…wait…what? He paused and shook his head. That stupid white singlet was doing things to him for sure. He sighed, “Fine, wait here.” He poked his head out of the door and waved over to the front desk, “Tachibana, can you come in for a second?” 

“Hm?” Tachibana hummed and made his way over, “Anything you need, Ueda-san?”

“Him.” Ueda pointed over at Taguchi who was still trying to dry out his shirt, “Switch shirts with Taguchi, he has meetings to go to.”

Tachibana spluttered, “Eh…eeh? But…then what do I wear? I have to man the front desk!” He squeaked. Taguchi shook his head, “No way, Ueda-kun why don’t you head out and quickly get me a new shirt. I don’t care what brand.”

Ueda glared back, “Your client will be here in 15 minutes there’s no time! Have you even finished that proposal yet?”

Taguchi’s eyes widened and immediately sat back down at his desk, “Mako-chan your shirt! He held out his hand while furiously tapping on the keyboard with one hand.”

“Eh? Seriously?!” He looked at the panicked expression on his cousin’s face and knew he was serious this time. Grumbling he quickly unbuttoned his grey dress shirt and handed it over, he wore no undershirt and so his surprisingly muscular torso was revealed. “Then what do I wear? The front desk…” He spoke pitifully while glancing at Ueda this time.

Sighing Ueda shrugged off his blazer and unbuttoned his shirt with one hand, “You’re lucky I buy my shirts two sizes bigger.” Too caught up in the exchange of shirts the three men were completely unaware of footsteps approaching the room.

“Hey, why isn’t anyone out front? Hanamura-san is….oooh~” Kamenashi stood at the door watching the three shirtless men, “Sorry to interrupt whatever this is but…um Junno, you do know Makoto’s your cousin right?” He said with a shake of his head before his eyes landed on Ueda, “Oh but I definitely approve the new PA. I’ll go stall Hanamura, have fun boys~” He said with a wink and left the room.


	3. Part 3

“Hanamura-san! So sorry for the wait, Taguchi-san will join you in a moment, Kamenashi-san could you bring Hanamura-san to the meeting room?” Tachibana smiled as Kamenashi brought the middle-aged man to the conference room and tried to ignore the strange looks he got for his ill-fitting shirt. He fidgeted slightly before returning to the front desk.

Back in Taguchi’s room the CEO was currently doing some last minute checks on the project proposal, he winced, “Argh, I hate last minute pressure. Ueda-kun can you look this over for me and bring it to the meeting room when you’re done?” He asked and yelped as Ueda leaned over his desk, shirtless, to peer at the screen. What the heck was Ueda going to wear now? Grumbling he looked at the door and at the close proximity he was with his PA’s abs. Seriously, who would’ve guessed the guy was hiding a six-pack underneath those clothes!? He gulped.

“Okay, I have to go now, remember to bring the proposal!” He said in a rush before making a mad dash for the door.

*********  
Barely five minutes into his meeting with Hanamura, Ueda came in surprisingly not shirtless. (Taguchi had no idea why he was expecting his PA to walk into a meeting with an important client shirtless in the first place.) He had his blazer on and buttoned up making it less obvious that he didn’t have anything on underneath. “The proposal, Taguchi-san.” He spoke with an air of professionalism and even a smile. Taguchi froze slightly, where did that smile come from?

“Ah, is this your new assistant, Taguchi-san?” Hanamura spoke and broke the CEO out of his daze. “Oh, um, yes my new PA, Ueda Tatsuya.” Seriously, when the heck did Ueda suddenly become charming? He gave a polite smile and shook hands with the client, absolutely not looking like a scary yakuza wannabe. “Will that be all, Taguchi-san?” He turned back to Taguchi flashing another smile.

“Ah…uhm yes, I’ll call you if I need anything.”

He watched as his PA left the room, and shifted uncomfortably.

“Tell me, Taguchi-san. Why are there only men in your company? I mean, you must need some form of eye candy am I right?” Hanamura chuckled heartily and Taguchi watched through the glass windows at Ueda’s retreating form, damn those were tight pants. “Eye candy huh?”

 

**********

 

“Nice job, Ueda-san.” Tachibana spoke from his desk as Ueda passed by.

“Sorry about the shirt, I’ll figure something out at lunch.” Ueda couldn’t help but feel a little concerned at the way Tachibana was squirming in his shirt.  
“Oh, no worries about that. This’s probably the first time Taguchi-san’s went to a meeting without coffee stains all over himself.” The secretary spoke with a slight giggle.

Ueda walked right up to his desk, “What? Why!?” Ueda frowned, visibly bothered with the fact that his boss has been showing up to meetings looking like a messy slob, no wonder he got all those client complaints (Tachibana had shared that file with him too).

Tachibana had a guilty look on his face and Ueda could’ve sworn the man was about to cry, he was six feet tall and for some reason he reminded him of one of his adult golden retrievers at home. “I didn’t want to tell Taguchi-san because I thought it’ll hurt his feelings…”

Ueda smacked his forehead, “Oh God…okay…” He sighed and returned to his desk, hoping to find something to preoccupy himself with until lunch hour.

 

*********

1pm came and Ueda found himself in Taguchi’s office again, “Give me money.” He said simply and Taguchi blinked at him from where he was eating a cup ramen (a good CEO eats only what his employees can afford).

“It’s a little too early to be asking for your pay, Ueda-kun.” He tried to bite back the tremble in his voice, was Ueda planning on robbing him now?

Ueda rolled his eyes, “I’m going out to get you a new shirt. Tachibana’s squirming in mine he’ll probably suffocate by the end of the day.”

Taguchi sighed in relief and reached for his wallet, “Okay, make sure to get one in a flattering colour.” Ueda gave him a look before grabbing the money and counting it, “I need more.”

Taguchi eyed him suspiciously before taking out a few more notes, “What for?”

“Transport.”

Ueda flashed another smile once he got what he wanted showing off what Taguchi would deem a perfect set of teeth. He was considering giving him a little more money before realizing what was happening, by then Ueda had left and Taguchi sunk in his seat.

It’s his first day and already his PA managed to extort cash from him.

Half an hour later, Ueda returned with a cream coloured shirt. Unbranded but Taguchi really didn’t care about those things. He also placed on his desk a baby bib and a child’s thermos flask with a built in sippy straw, “No more coffee stains.” Ueda spoke as if he were talking to a child and Taguchi had never felt so mortified in his life. Thank goodness they were alone in his room.

 

“Wait, what’s that in your hands?”

Ueda looked at the take out box he was holding, “My lunch?”

Taguchi narrowed his eyes, “From?”

“La Boheme, that famous French restaurant.”

Taguchi sighed and smiled, “Okay, have a nice lunch.” He gulped as Ueda smiled back, “I will!”

He crumbled on his desk as the man left the room, “It’s okay, it’s his first day. Take that as a reward for his first day, a good CEO rewards his employees for a job well done. Yeah.” He muttered to himself before taking out his phone for another round of Puzzles and Dragons.

 

*********

 

“Is that a La Boheme take out box I see?” Tachibana leaned over his desk to take a look, Ueda winced a little seeing a button of his shirt pop open, for a kind lanky guy Tachibana sure was buff.

He looked back at his lunch that he successfully bought with Taguchi’s money (honestly he didn’t think it would be that easy to get money from him on his first day, something to take note of for future references).

“Ah, yeah. Want some?”

The secretary shook his head and smile, “No thanks, what did you order?”

“Grilled saba and octopus sashimi.” One of the weirder menu items for a French restaurant but the minute he eyed octopus on the menu he just had to have it. Tachibana had a mirthful smile on his face as he giggled, seriously he was like an overgrown teletubby or something.

“What?” Ueda raised an eyebrow, teletubby or no teletubby if Tachibana says a word to make fun of his taste in food he won’t hesitate to punch the guy.

“Oh no, it’s nothing haha. I probably know who made your food then. My boyfriend works at La Boheme.” 

“Oh?” Ueda regarded the secretary, well he wasn’t exactly surprised that he swung that way. Come to think of it, it was pretty odd that everyone in the office happened to be male. A total sausagefest. He wasn’t sure if he should feel uncomfortable with that fact or not. Instead he shrugged and took a bite of his lunch, “Mmm…it’s good!” Ueda laughed and took two more mouthfuls, “Really really good!”

Tachibana chuckled, “I’ll tell Haru then. He really is a talented chef.”

Ueda nodded and continued to enjoy the rest of his lunch in peace, completely ignoring Taguchi’s whines from inside his office, “I’m hungry~~ that cup ramen wasn’t enough.”


	4. Part 4

Taguchi stumbled into the carriage of the 7.30 train in a rush, patting the metallic wall where his otter graffiti was in triumph, “Argh….finally!” He cheered before taking a hearty swig of his morning coffee.  
“Highlight of your whole week huh?” Kamenashi watched as Taguchi did a little victory cheer, seriously it was hard to imagine he was actually working for this guy. He watched as the CEO drank his coffee and squinted, “Is that a kid’s sippy bottle?”

Taguchi choked a little but managed to refrain from spilling anything, thank goodness. He looked at his bottle and then back at Kamenashi, “…Yes?”  
He wasn’t even going to ask any further, sure Taguchi had his quirks and this probably was one of them. As long as it didn’t get him into any trouble.

“Anyway, it’s been two weeks since the new PA started. How’s the Hanamura job coming along?”

The CEO visibly brightened, “Good! I mean Mako-chan was good and all but it’s nice having someone telling me what to do once in a while.”

“So basically you’re getting bossed around by your own assistant and you’re enjoying it?” Kamenashi gave him a smug look and Taguchi could only wince.

“You don’t have to put it that way…I’m still the boss.”  
It had been two weeks, and during that time Ueda had somehow managed to extort more money from him for lunches. But at the same time, the guy was practically a lifesaver when it came to editing Taguchi’s speeches and organizing his schedule, he even managed to chase away that creepy stalker woman that kept calling his extension with a restraining order (Tachibana always passed on her call through since he thought it’ll be mean to turn her down). Everything seemed to be coming along smoothly and today was the dry run presentation for Exco’s annual motivational training session.

“Good morning!” Tachibana greeted as usual once Taguchi walked through the door, “Dry run with Hanamura-san at 3pm today. Other than that your schedule’s free.” He announced happily and Taguchi walked with an extra bounce in his steps, “Good to hear Mako-chan!”

He turned to see a fluffy head of blonde hair lying on the desk outside his room. “…Ueda-kun?”

The man grumbled before burrowing his head further into his arms, “Five minutes.”  
“He seemed kind of…out of it this morning.” Tachibana spoke from his desk, “I made him some tea so that should calm him down?” He gestured to the steaming mug of warm tea on Ueda’s desk.

Taguchi worriedly chewed on his lip, their dry-run was later in the afternoon but he still needed to go through various things with the event team and he needed Ueda to help him out. Sighing he walked up to his PA’s desk and gently prodded him on the arm, “Ueda-kun?” He tried again and nearly leaped out of his skin as he was faced with deadly bloodshot eyes.

“What?” He spat and Taguchi nearly cowered in a corner if it weren’t for Tachibana who piped up behind him, “Are you sure you’re okay? I have some aspirin if you need it?”

Ueda shook his head and sat up properly, raking his hand through his hair and ruffling it up a bit. He yawned before standing up, “Sorry, I’ll just go freshen up a bit and I’m good to go.” He spoke in a gruff voice before heading to the restrooms.

Taguchi looked after him worriedly, “He reminds me of that alley cat you rescued when we were little, Mako-chan.” He spoke longingly.

“Raion-chan? Aww I miss that little guy.” Tachibana cooed before turning to his cousin, “And you’re sure warming up to our little lion aren’t you?” He said with a teasing smile.

He really didn’t expect that look from his innocent doe-eyed cousin but Taguchi felt flustered, “Wh..what? He’s doing a good job for his first few weeks. He’s still scary but at least he gets things done.”

Nodding, his secretary turned away and placed his headset back on, ready to resume work and with a resigned sigh Taguchi stepped into his office.

 

*************

 

“Ueda-kun, right?” Kamenashi sauntered over to the PA’s desk, inquisitive eyes roaming around his workspace. There were crumpled pieces of paper everywhere, discarded snack wrappers and the man’s computer screen was adorned with sticky notes of various colours.

Ueda himself looked up, startled and looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He stared back up at Kamenashi as the man gave him a catty smile, “Oh! I didn’t realize you wore glasses.” He leaned in further as if he were inspecting every visible inch of the other man.

“Can I help you with something, Kamenashi-san?”

He watched the head of marketing shake his head, “No, nothing in particular. I just wanted to drop by and see how you’re doing. “  
Ueda glared back at the other, “Well, go away.” He returned to editing the rest of Taguchi’s opening speech for the dry run (there were a lot of bad puns to cut out). Kamenashi pouted, “You’re no fun and here I thought I’d finally have a buddy in office to talk crap behind Junno’s back.”

Ueda raised an eyebrow at Kamenashi, “He compliments himself in front of the mirror in his room.”

The other man smirked, “He drinks his morning coffee from a kid’s sippy thermos now.”

“Yeah, I got that for him.”

Kamenashi grinned, “Keep up the good work, Ueda-kun.” He said with a pat on the other man’s back and made his way to the pantry.

 

***************

 

Taguchi pinched the bridge of his nose in mock concentration (a good CEO knows how to put just the right amount of pressure on his staff when the time calls for it). The members of the event team were all gathered in his office for a brief meeting before they went to the boardroom for the dry run with Hanamura-san and the rest of the Exco executives.

“Right, so all the slides are ready. I just want everyone to be clear on the activities and tasks we’ll be giving out to the participants…also Exco hasn’t confirmed with us on how many participants we’ll be getting, Ueda-kun remind me to check up on that after the dry run okay?” He gestured to Ueda who was handing out copies of the schedules to the team members.

Ueda nodded and went to arrange the rest of the paperwork on Taguchi’s desk while the CEO continued his brief. Taguchi leaned against his own desk and gestured for Ueda to hand him his copy of the materials to look through. Knowing there wasn’t much left for him to do, the PA stood to the side of Taguchi’s room and watched as the man furrowed his brow as he read through the documents. He wore his glasses and had this concentrated professional aura around himself all of a sudden. Ueda smiled, feeling proud for once to call this man his boss.

“Okay, I think everything’s settled. I hope that this dry run goes smoothly and that we’ll do an even better job on the day itself.” He placed the papers aside and reached behind him for his coffee. “Let’s get Tagutive!” He grinned before taking a big gulp of his coffee from his sippy cup.

“Sir, is that a sippy cup?” One of the trainers spoke and Taguchi froze.

Ueda groaned out loud.

Outside Taguchi’s office at the front desk, Tachibana smiled at the sound of merry laughter coming from the CEO’s office, “Ah, Junno-nii’s jokes must be getting better.”

 

*****************

 

It was the end of the day, they had a successful dry run and the executives from Exco were pleased with the proposed training session. They confirmed the number of participants and the actual training day would be on Monday. Ueda was typing away on his computer, responding to the last few emails of the day and double-confirming appointments with Taguchi for the next week while keeping his eye on the time.

He could hear shuffling from inside Taguchi’s office indicating that the man was preparing to go home. On cue, the man came out from his office with a sigh of relief as he stretched and cracked his neck a little, “Ah, the weekend is here!” He glanced around and spotted his PA still at his desk, “Not going home yet, Ueda-kun?”

Ueda was just about shutting down his computer and get his things together when he looked up and saw his boss. His blazer was off and folded neatly in his hand, other hand holding his bag. His tie was off as well and the first two buttons of his work shirt were undone. His hair slightly disheveled but his face looked calm and relieved after a hard day of work. Ueda regarded him for a while before clearing his throat, “I was just about to head off.”

Taguchi smiled and approached him, “Otsukare.” He patted the other man on the back and faltered a little at the wide-eyed glare Ueda gave him. He laughed nervously, “Anyway, me and a few of the others are going out for some after-work drinks. You should join us.”

Ueda pressed his lips in a firm line and checked the time on his phone, “Sorry…I have to be somewhere. Next time I’ll definitely come.” He nodded and Taguchi pouted, “You sure? It’s a new place. Kamenashi-kun’s friend owns it.”

The PA chuckled a little at the pleading look from his boss, it was almost endearing. Almost. “Next time.” He insisted and nodded, excusing himself and making his way to the exit. He waved at Tachibana who was packing up himself on his way out.

Taguchi walked over to the front desk, “You’re coming with us right, Mako-chan?” The man laughed and nodded, “Yeah, but just for a little while. Haru’s picking me up.”

“Well okay, next time we should go to Haru-chan’s place for our company dinner.” He smirked and Tachibana laughed, “Only if you guys have a craving for weird seafood and French cuisine.”

The rest of their entourage got ready and left for their venue. Kamenashi had recommended a place a friend of his just opened; it was a specialty bar…whatever that meant. The man had brought it up one day over lunch and Taguchi was already excited to go (a good CEO knows that his employees should work hard and play hard).

As they sat at around the bar Taguchi sighed and stretched his arms over his head tiredly, “Ah~ too bad Ueda-kun couldn’t join us.”  
“Obsessed over your PA already Junno?” Kamenashi smirked and Taguchi spluttered.

“Don’t put it that way!”

The other man grinned, “He’s an interesting character though. I’ve never seen you this worked up before.”

“Yeah! Junno-nii’s practically glowing now.”

“Mako-chan not you too!”

“I agree, you’re spending on video games has gone down by almost 50%. I’m impressed.”

“Oi! Nakamaru! You guys! Stop ganging up on me!”

The other three laughed at Taguchi’s whining, “Yes Boss!” They chorused.

A man came from the bar with their drinks, tall, well-built with his wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail and he wore a simple black t-shirt and ripped jeans. “Four beers on the house for Kame’s friends.” He smirked.

Kamenashi rolled his eyes and gestured to the man, “Guys this is Akanishi, the owner.”

Akanishi nodded in greeting and Taguchi stood up to shake the man’s hand, “Thank you for taking care of Kame-chan!”The man spluttered, “Excuse me?” Kamenashi smacked his own forehead, “The man has a wife and a young daughter, Junno!” Taguchi paused and stared at Akanishi and then back to Kamenashi, “Ah…but I assumed…”

“Don’t worry about it, I give that impression a lot…honestly I wouldn’t mind!” Akanishi laughed good naturedly and Kamenashi glared.  
The conversation came to an abrupt halt as the lights dimmed. Akanishi looked to the back and excused himself, “Oops, sorry I forgot it’s time. Be right back.”

“What’s going on?” Taguchi asked and Akanishi smirked, “Late night entertainment. You guys’ll probably enjoy this.” He said before disappearing to the back.

Akanishi shortly came back with a mic in hand, “Ladies and gentleman.” He spoke from the side of the bar as all eyes were on him, “First of all I’d like to welcome you all to our grand opening. I hope that we’ll be able to continue serving you for years and year to come. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why it’s called a ‘specialty’ bar…ladies get out your wallets! Presenting the one and only, Killer Bee!”


	5. Part 5

Ueda took a deep breath and shook his hands a little hopping on one foot and then switching to another. He hadn’t done this in years but because Akanishi was an old friend and all he said he would as a one-time thing, he’d put that part of his life behind him now and the sounds and scent of the bar made him a little uneasy.

“Presenting the one and only, Killer Bee!” 

Music started playing from the stereo of the bar, a slow and low bass tone then slowly built up in tempo. The crowd cheered as Ueda came from the back of the bar and hopped up on to the bar table. He glanced at the crowd without actually laying eyes on anyone. He kept his stare hard and cold as he walked down the length of the table, strutting with a seductive shake of his hips to the beat of the music. He stopped walking and gyrated his hips causing the room to scream as he undid his already loose tie and threw it to a crowd of screaming girls.

He continued to dance while slowly popping off the buttons of his shirt. Revealing black leather suspenders underneath fastened to the waistband of his jeans. Before he got a chance to slip off the shirt he was startled by the sudden spray of coldness down his back, he turned and saw that Akanishi had sprayed him with beer from the bar. Glaring at the man, he recovered and ran his hand from his soaked locks down his chest making the audience cheer him on. He slipped off his soaked shirt and threw it over his shoulder, baring his solid six pack abs. He stroked himself a few times while dancing became more aggressive.

He caught the hat that was thrown at him from behind the bar and ran his hand through his locks once before putting it on and casting a seductive glance at the crowd. He danced off the last few notes of the song, his fingers slowly stroking down the length of each suspender strap framing his chest and slowly slipping the straps over his shoulders. He hooked his thumb in the waist band of his jeans lowering them slightly showing of a hint of his hipbones before bending down to sit cross-legged on the bar table in between a group of customers who were seated there. The song ended with him picking up a mug of beer from the nearest customer to him and gulping it all down causing more cheers.

He smirked as the lights finally dimmed and the performance was over. The crowd cheered as Akanishi continued speaking through the microphone. Ueda sighed and turned over to the customer who he had taken the drink from, “Sorry about that buddy, let me buy you another drink.” He turned and his heart stopped.

“Ueda…kun?”

He was face to face with Taguchi Junnosuke, a very very flushed Taguchi Junnosuke. They stared at one another for a long time with Ueda awkwardly shirtless and soaking wet and reeking of beer. They continued to stare.

“Um…Good job Ueda-kun.” Tachibana chirped encouragingly behind Taguchi and it was only then that Ueda noticed that his other co-workers were there as well.

Ueda stared wide eyed like a deer caught in the headlights.

“See you at work next week!” He blurted out before hopping of the table and making a mad dash to the back.

 

***************

 

“Junno…Junno!...TAGUCHI JUNNOSUKE!!” Kamenashi practically yelled in Taguchi’s ear making the man cringe, “WHAT!?”

“Did you not just see what happened there!? OH MY GOD COVER YOUR PANTS!” Kamenashi shrieked noticing a not-so subtle bulge in the man’s pants. Taguchi looked down and yelped taking his blazer to cover himself.

“Wow, so you’ve really got the hots for him! I mean, I don’t blame you. That was…wow…”

Taguchi shook his head, “Yes…I mean NO! I mean…what was that!? What happened!?”

“Your PA’s a stripper.” Nakamaru deadpanned and Taguchi glared at him, “No, he just enjoys taking his shirt off and dancing on bar tables, he’ll probably come over at me now and bash my head with a wine bottle or something.”

Tachibana giggled, “Beer makes Junno-nii snarky.”

“Tachibana Makoto.”

The four men froze as they heard a new voice behind them, Tachibana nervously turned around and laughed guiltily, “H…Haru-chan.”

A man with jet black hair and piercing eyes regarded the group; he wore a chef’s uniform and carried with him a bag of ingredients that reeked of fish despite the thick scent of alcohol in the place.

“What are you doing at a place like this?” He asked in a monotone voice but jealousy was evident in his eyes.

Taguchi stepped in, “Ahaha Haru-chan, sorry we kind of dragged Mako-chan with us for after work drinks. He’s completely sober though, I promise!”

Haru looked at Taguchi and narrowed his eyes, “There was a naked man dancing in front of you…and don’t call me Haru-chan.”

Taguchi spluttered, “HE WASN’T NAKED!!”

“From where I was it looked like you were giving him a blowjob, your head was right there.” He had a stone cold expression as he gestured to his own crotch.

Taguchi’s face went red as a tomato, “What kind of vision do you have!?”

Tachibana laughed good naturedly, “Okay, okay, I’d better head home now. Thanks for tonight everyone! Kamenashi-kun, thank Akanishi-san for me!” He said as he pushed his stubborn boyfriend away from the group and waved goodbye.

Taguchi cringed as he could hear Haru still speaking to Tachibana, “Really, it looked like he was giving that naked man a blowjob.”

 

****************

 

Ueda took a deep breath as he sat at his desk Monday morning. The office was quiet as people slowly trickled in, groggy and moping at having to get back to work for the week. Kamenashi had come in earlier and just nodded at Ueda in greeting, a slight smirk on his mouth but nothing was said.

Nakamaru came in next but just glanced at Ueda for a split second before rushing towards his desk. Tachibana came in after that and straight away went to Ueda’s desk, “Um…Ueda-kun…” He began.

Ueda sighed, he expected this. He came to work extra early to prepare for whatever talk he were to be given regarding that odd encounter the other night and he was more than glad to be having Tachibana be the one to speak to him first before Taguchi came into work. 

“Just to let you know, the company’s completely fine with any…um…’side-projects’ our employees wish to partake in. So you don’t have to worry about it okay?” He started off with a shy yet encouraging smile but chewed his lip worriedly, “But…you’re not…I mean…that’s all you do right?” He lowered his voice into a tiny whisper, “You’re not a male prostitute, are you?”

Ueda spluttered, “What the fuck!? Of course not!” He glared back at the secretary who cowered away slightly at the sudden outburst, “Sorry! Sorry! I just needed to make sure…I mean…in any case you might get angry clients or your pimp storming into the office to find you…we can’t be held responsible for anything.” 

Ueda was mortified at the conversation they were having and even more so with the number of employees curiously peeking their heads above their cubicles. “It was just a one-time thing. Can we please forget any of this ever happened?” Ueda grumbled, “And no, I’m not a prostitute and I don’t have a pimp and I don’t do drugs. Happy?”

Tachibana gave a sigh of relief as he placed his hand over his chest, “Good…I just needed to know and everything. I won’t ask you again, promise.” He smiled before retreating back to his desk.

Ueda rolled his eyes. That was bad enough he dreaded to think what kind of reaction he’d get from Taguchi.

Sure enough, said man came into the office with his usual sippy cup in hand (Ueda had to admit it, that man had no shame at all). Taguchi nodded to Tachibana and Ueda readied himself as the CEO turned the corner. That awkward encounter the other night scared the living daylights out of him. Not because he was face to face with his own boss as he himself was scantily clad and drenched in beer but because of the sheer closeness. How Taguchi’s pitch black eyes just stared at him in that intense way just for a few seconds got his blood pumping.

Ueda gulped, whatever reaction he’d get from the man he was ready to explain himself. Just as Taguchi turned the corner, however, he was met with a stare that went right past him. Taguchi had his eyes wide open, almost comically and marched his way like a robot past Ueda without a single greeting and slammed his office door shut.

He blinked.

He stood up from his desk and ripped the door of the CEO’s office open.

“What the hell!?” He yelled and watched Taguchi stumble and drop his phone, the familiar background music of Puzzles and Dragons could be heard chiming from the device. 

Taguchi cleared his throat and collected himself, “Uhm…yes, Ueda-san? How can I help you today.” He shuffled with some papers on his desk and nervously fumbled with his tie. Ueda raised an eyebrow and stalked his way over to the man’s desk. “Ueda-san? What ever happened to Ueda-kun?” He eyed the man and Taguchi nervously avoided his gaze.

Ueda sighed, seriously this wasn’t the reaction he was expected at all! What he was expecting was something along the lines of a lengthy lecture on how a good employee shouldn’t be involving themselves in questionable late-night activities or something.“Look, about that night…”

“Do you need a raise?” Taguchi suddenly blurted out, he finally looked Ueda in the eyes and the man was shocked to see sheer worry in his gaze. The kind you’d see in an overbearing mother or something.

“Wh..what?”

“If it’s money you need…Ueda-kun…there are better ways to earn more money. You don’t have to sell yourself like that.”

Ueda growled, “I’m not a prostitute! God dammit!” He yelled and plonked himself on the chair opposite Taguchi’s desk. This was exhausting and he was so exasperated, he didn’t even know why he was thinking so much of how his boss looked at him that way that night…and why he was acting so weird now.

“Ueda-kun…was that really you that night?” Taguchi sounded calmer now and less on the edge but Ueda shivered as that worried glance was still aimed at him.

“No, that was my twin brother, Matsuya….what do you think!?” Ueda rolled his eyes and Taguchi stifled a slight chuckle at that.

Ueda sighed, “I used to be a host back in my early twenties…and some…stuff happened and later on I ended up being a stripper for the club I worked at. The owner of that bar is a college friend of mine and he convinced me to perform for old time’s sake. But that’s all behind me now, you don’t have to worry about any angry pimps or drugs or anything a good employee shouldn’t be doing.” He let out a breath and looked at Taguchi, his boss. That worried gaze was still on him and it made him feel sick to his stomach. He didn’t know why he needed to explain himself like that, he never ever told anyone of his previous career and he had no idea why he was doing it now. The look his boss was giving him now made him shiver.

Taguchi, on the other hand gulped and looked at Ueda. The way he moved that night was like he was a natural, like he had been doing this for years. It was nice that his PA had assured him he wouldn’t be going back to that line of work anymore but it worried him that the fact that at some point in this man’s life full of opportunity he had to reduce himself to nothing but eye candy for some ravenous crowd of drunkards. He gulped again. Glancing at Ueda now he can’t forget that night where he sat so close, his naked upper torso glistening wet. Ueda was wearing a light blue dress shirt today with rolled up sleeves and the first two buttons undone and he could already eye his nipples peeking out from the shirt and the faint subtle outline of six pack abs.

“Taguchi-san.” Ueda murmured and the CEO bolted upright.

“Right! Okay! Now that we’ve cleared all that up…um…ahaha, nothing to worry about ne, Ueda-kun? Do I have any meetings today?”

Ueda pressed his lips in a firm line and checked the small notebook he held in his hand, “Just a meeting with the events team for the Exco job this afternoon. Until then, do you want to go over your training materials?”

Taguchi nodded but picked up his sippy cup instead, “Um…yeah, bring over the materials and we’ll work on them here. Just, let me make more coffee.” He walked past Ueda who rolled his eyes.

The CEO backtracked and slid his room door open, “Let’s keep this open okay?” Before disappearing to the pantry. The PA stood there dumbfounded, whatever just happened back there he kind of felt violated as if Taguchi just mentally stripped him with his eyes. Shuddering, not sure if in disgust or anything else, Ueda went to his desk to collect the materials. It was going to be a long morning for the both of them.


	6. Part 6

It had been roughly a month since Ueda joined the company and things were going as smooth as can be. The PA could still feel some unknown tension whenever he was left alone with his boss and he would flinch whenever he’d receive a pointed look from the CEO whenever he had to decline any of their co-workers offers for after-work drinks saying he had some other thing to get to urgently.  
Akanishi was a pushy one, whenever he couldn’t get an entertainment act for his bar in time or if anyone had dropped out last minute, Ueda was the first person he’d call. And the PA grumbled, this had been the fifth time he’d have to go perform at the bar and he prayed extra hard that he wouldn’t encounter his co-workers again. So far he’d been lucky.

He clicked his tongue as he saw Akanishi’s name flash on his phone as he was in the middle of editing one of Taguchi’s speeches. “What?” He answered in a grunt and could hear that annoying laugh from the other end.

“Tatchan, I require your services again….” He trailed off and Ueda frowned, something was up this time.

“…And?”

For once he heard a slight timidness in the other man’s tone, “What’s your opinion on pole dancing?” Ueda choked on air at hearing that and had to wave off the concerned look Tachibana was giving him from the front desk, the man was poised ready to perform the Heimlich on him or something.

“NO!” He barked and could hear the whining already, “But Tat-chaaan~ You have to! I just had the pole installed and prepared a whole campaign for it next week! It’s just that Ko—“ He promptly disconnected the line and angrily tossed his phone onto the pile of documents on his desk. He didn’t need to hear some sob story from the man. Dancing on table tops half-naked he could handle, but pole dancing was pushing it a little. He watched how the dancers in the club he worked at did it, that kind of thing probably needed years of practice to get the perfect technique. That and probably long-ass limbs, he glanced at Taguchi who was making his way to the pantry, sippy cup in hand, yeah his boss could probably be a better pole dancer than himself.

Ueda choked again, he did not just imagine that!

“Ueda-kun are you really ok? You keep choking!” Tachibana squealed from the front desk and Ueda sighed, “Yeah…peachy.”  
He pushed that whole idea to the back of his head for the rest of the day, fully immersing himself in work. As lunchtime rolled over Ueda yelped as two strong hands slammed on his desk. He looked up with wild eyes to a blinding grin belonging to his boss, “What!?” He barked and Taguchi chuckled, “Okay you’re definitely working too hard if I could scare you like that.”

Flustered, Ueda huffed and arranged the papers on his desk aimlessly, “You didn’t scare me, I was just startled.” Pure logic there.  
Taguchi chuckled again warmly, “Yeah okay. Anyway let’s go.”

Ueda blinked and made a questioning noise and the CEO tapped on his watch, “Lunch meeting with clients, Mako-chan says you drive so as my PA it’s your duty to escort me.”

He rolled his eyes and snorted at the sound of ‘escort’. He sighed and looked for his keys. At least this would be another free lunch.

*****************

The venue wasn’t as classy as he expected, just a quaint little café that served western food. It was a little out of the way and Ueda had to bear with Taguchi complaining at the cleanliness of his car (“Do you live in your car, Ueda-kun!?”) and how the man just couldn’t keep from fiddling with his stereo, singing off-tune to some new-age indie song and Ueda’s head throbbed. 

They arrived before the client and awkwardly sat across from one another. He could feel that tension building again as Taguchi silently watched him. “You cut your hair.” He stated with a small smile which made Ueda consciously feel his nape, “Ah…yeah. I was told it was getting long.”

Taguchi hummed and tilted his head, “Really? Who told you?” And Ueda shifted uncomfortably at that gaze, this atmosphere was really weird. 

He coughed, “Um…Akanishi…he said it was hiding my cheekbones and the ladies at the bar like my cheekbones.”

The look Taguchi gave him threw him completely off guard. It was bordering a glare and something else, something very foreign, “Are you still dancing there? You told me it was just one time!” 

Ueda spluttered, were they dating or something? “I can do what I want! It’s not like it’s my full time job or anything.” He huffed and then his boss shifted to a more concerned look, “Do you enjoy it, Ueda-kun? I mean…as long as you’re happy…”

Ueda sighed and buried his face in his hands, “Where are the clients?”

“Oh!” Junno chirped the atmosphere suddenly shifting dramatically, “I forgot to tell you…they cancelled while we were in the car.” He said sheepishly.

“WHAT!? You could’ve told me…” Ueda began and then grunted, “I’m ordering dessert!” He called over the waiter and Taguchi grinned, “Sure, sure, order as much as you like. My treat today!” 

Ueda made sure he ordered the most expensive dessert on the menu.

***************

 

Ueda returned to his desk and checked his email. There were a few replies from some clients regarding upcoming projects as well as an apologetic email from the lunch meeting client asking for a rescheduled appointment. He briskly went through the rest until he noticed something new. An email from a company called 8Alive, the company sounded vaguely familiar but the request was a little…odd. Before replying, he forwarded the email straight to Taguchi and entered his boss’s office.

“Check your inbox.” He said while marching in and Taguchi squeaked, “What?! Oh! Um…” He scrambled to throw his phone in his desk drawer and looked at his computer in mock concentration.

Ueda rolled his eyes, “Do we handle sexual harassment talks?” He nodded to the email Taguchi just opened and watched in amusement as the man’s eyes grew comically wide.

“Um…we haven’t done it before but…” He looked at Ueda with an unsure expression and the PA blinked, “We’re…still talking about the email right?”

Taguchi nodded hastily, “Err yes yes! Um…well tell them to send over a representative and we’ll have a chat? It’s not something we do often but the case looks interesting enough! And Tagutive Corp is ready for any challenge!” He said with a wide grin and Ueda couldn’t help but smirk, “Ok boss.”  
*****************  
8Alive agreed to send a representative to their office and they set an appointment date. Ueda had no idea how they’d approach this but he did have to admit this was an interesting case. 8Alive was a media company that ran a news and entertainment website. Their main headquarters was in Osaka but they recently opened a branch in Tokyo. The company size wasn’t that big though so Ueda was wondering what happened to cause them to request a motivational training company for a sexual harassment talk. 

He was in Taguchi’s office discussing some edits on the workshop materials for an upcoming project when the phone rang. “Taguchi-san, the representative from 8Alive is here. Shall I send him in?” Tachibana’s voice could be heard from the speakerphone and Taguchi gave Ueda an amused look raising his eyebrows, “Sure, send him in!”

Ueda opened the door to let their guest in and froze as he saw the man behind it; he was hit with the sudden temptation to slam the door in the man’s face. 

“Pfft! Hime!?”  
“Nishikido…”

Taguchi looked between the two, “Um…Hi! Welcome to Tagutive Corp!”

The man glanced at Taguchi, it was a piercing gaze and almost as scary as Ueda from the first time they met. Tan skin and jet black slick hair; he looked formidable in his sharp navy blue business suit. Taguchi was now even more intrigued why they were requesting a sexual harassment talk. He brushed past Ueda without a second glance and gripped Taguchi in a firm handshake, “Nishikido Ryo, HR director of 8Alive.” He spoke while presenting his name card.

Taguchi looked at the name card and back up and he could see the way Ueda was glaring holes into the man’s back. “Nice to meet you, Nishikido-san. Have a seat.” He looked back at Ueda hesitantly, “Ueda-kun…don’t you want to ask Nishikido-san if he’d want some tea?” He spoke slowly and nearly flinched at the snort Ueda gave.

Nishikido turned in his chair to look at the PA, “Seriously? You’re working here?” He broke in a wide taunting grin, “Well, I’m sure you know how I take my coffee, Ueda-kun.”

Ueda huffed and left the room, finally taking the opportunity to slam the door hard.

Taguchi laughed uneasily, “I’m sorry…do you both know each other?”

The man smirked, “Yeah…we used to work in the same company in Osaka. I wouldn’t imagine he’d want to be someone’s PA though. He’s stubborn as hell! We used to call him prissy princess all the time.” He chuckled at the memory and Taguchi tilted his head.

“Osaka…so…you were a stripper too? Oh! So is this what the sexual harassment case about?!” Taguchi squeaked and Nishikido glared, “What the fuck!? NO! How the hell did you come to that conclusion!? We were working in an advertising company!”

Taguchi blushed and nodded, “Forget I said anything….”

Ueda came back in and slammed a mug of hot coffee on the desk in front of Nishikido and the man grinned, “What? Still angry about last time? I thought you’d be over that by now.”

Ueda frowned and stood behind Taguchi’s desk, “Shut up. So, who did you harass? Are we coming up with a whole workshop just because you tapped someone’s ass?” He spoke briskly and Nishikido glared again, “WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE ASSUMING IT’S BECAUSE OF ME!?” He yelled in exasperation.

Taguchi laughed and shrugged, “You just look like…the type.”

“Excuse me!?” Nishikido huffed, “For your information, it’s not even for my branch. I’m from HQ and I’ve been getting a shitload of weird complaints from those idiots in Tokyo so I want you guys to handle this for me.” 

Taguchi nodded in understanding, “Ah I see….so it’s not you.”

“NO IT’S NOT!” Ueda smirked at the flustered look on the man’s face.

“Look…” Nishikido started, “I was looking for someone to handle this in Tokyo so I wouldn’t have to. The…’victim’..” He paused to make little air quote finger gestures, “…in all of this is really just this one guy. Our Tokyo branch is still new and pretty small, only ten permanent employees so far. There’s been something weird going around and I guess these guys just need a good talking to on office conduct.”

Taguchi frowned in concentration and nodded, “So you’ve been getting complaint emails from the victim?” He started and his frown deepened as Nishikido shook his head, “No. His boyfriend! Yeah I think we need to make this a sexual harassment and inter-office relationship conduct talk or something. That guy has been pestering me over and over again how everyone’s after his sweet, pure darling and I get the feeling the ‘victim’ likes it!”

Taguchi and Ueda’s jaws fell open, well this was some case.

“All-male office?” Ueda asked and Nishikido smirked, “Yup.”

Nishikido sighed, “I’ll tell you what, since you guys are here in Tokyo, I’ll have the ‘victim’ (again with the air quotes) come over and you guys see for yourself. Let me know if this’s worth your time…which it better be…and we’ll go from there.”

Taguchi spluttered, really he should be the one deciding here but it seemed like the decision had already been made and they’d be seeing the apparent “victim” from 8Alive’s Tokyo branch next week. Before he even realized it, Ueda was escorting Nishikido out of his office. He stumbled and rushed after them watching them chat in hushed tones from his office door. Ueda narrowed his eyes at Nishikido as the other man gave him a cunning grin and waved his fingers teasingly at him and Ueda snarled probably yelling some sort of profanity and with a cheeky grin Nishikido nodded at him and Taguchi before leaving.

Ueda huffed and turned around to find Taguchi staring at him, “What?” He yelped as Taguchi held his shoulders in a firm grip, “Did you date that guy?!” He spoke in a frantic tone before catching himself and realizing they were in the middle of the office where curious heads peeked over their cubicles trying to see what the commotion was about. Taguchi coughed awkwardly, “Um…sorry.” He muttered and Ueda raised an eyebrow at him.

“Nishikido? Hell no! We used to work together, that’s all….and no! Not at the night club! None of my past employers know about that and I’d prefer if it stayed that way.” He growled and Taguchi raised his hands in surrender. “O…okay. Again, sorry. It’s your business after all.” He whimpered and Ueda narrowed his eyes with a slight smirk, “Bingo.”

With that Taguchi quickly retreated back into his office with his tail between his legs. He plopped onto his leather chair and sighed. Sexual harassment and inter-office relationships…appropriate conduct in the office. A challenging case but Taguchi had a feeling he’d probably need to listen to his own advice after this.


	7. Part 7

“I’ll have the brew of the day to go, less sugar.” Kamenashi fished for his wallet but the barista held up his hand.

“I think you’ve earned enough loyalty points, this one’s on the house.” The man’s shapely lips curled in a smirk which had Kamenashi return the gesture. 

“Aww, Yamapi’s so sweet! Do I have enough loyalty points too? One caramel macchiato, and put it in my cup as usual!” Taguchi gave a toothy grin and waved his sippy cup at the barista who scowled.

“Nah, you’ve got three drinks left. And it’s YA-MA-SHI-TA. Yamapi’s only for close friends.” The barista pointed at his name tag and Kamenashi snorted at Taguchi’s dejected face.

They headed for the train station, drinks in hand and Taguchi was grumbling, “I thought if I brought my own sippy cup I’d get extra points…”

Kamenashi chuckled and shook his head, “You just lack the charm I guess…” He sighed and Taguchi rolled his eyes. “So when will you ask him out? He obviously likes you.” He grinned cheekily at his old friend. Thankfully they had an early start that morning and they managed to get on the right train. Taguchi happily petted his otter drawing.

“I don’t know…probably after you and that PA of yours start going out maybe.” He said in one breath while checking his perfectly manicured nails. Taguchi nearly choked on his macchiato.

“Wh..what? No no no…a good CEO doesn’t date employees!” Taguchi cried and the other man nodded along, “Says you. But oh well we’ll see how it goes…by the way I was at Akanishi’s bar the other day. He just had a pole installed, said there was going to be a pole dancing special this week.”

Taguchi choked for the second time that warning, “WHAT!? No…you don’t mean…” His eyes were blown wide and Kamenashi couldn’t help himself, he snorted loudly causing the other train occupants to look at them.

“You should see your face! Anyway, relax. Ueda has nothing to do with it. Jin’s having problems convincing his current guy though…he kept rambling about it but I couldn’t bother to listen.” Taguchi didn’t want to admit the sigh of relief he just let out but it was there. But the thought of the potential of Ueda scantily clad and twirling around a metal pole remained at the back of his mind for the remainder of the train ride to work.

*****************

 

Ueda cursed and grumbled under his breath, scratching his bed head and pulling at his un-ironed shirt. He didn’t mean to sleep through all three of his morning alarms but before he knew it he had several missed calls from Tachibana and a shitload of concerned messages from both the secretary and Taguchi. He sprang out of bed and quickly called the office to explain himself and it was now nearly noon and he just stepped in.

“Ueda-kun! How are you? Feeling better?” Tachibana looked up at him with concerned eyes and glanced at him, “Oh….you should freshen up. The client from 8Alive just arrived and he’s in Taguchi-san’s office right now.” He spoke quickly and Ueda nodded heading for his desk, “Is Taguchi mad at me?” He asked while fixing his hair and his shirt, Tachibana helpfully held up his camera phone on selfie mode for Ueda to check himself.

“Oh don’t worry, he’s fine. I told him you were feeling a little overworked and slept through. He completely understands.” He smiled and Ueda sighed and nodded, “But you’d better get in there fast. Who knows what they might be talking about….you know…” Tachibana paused to whisper, “That’s the sexual harassment victim right?”

Ueda groaned, “Oh God! Okay…” He quickly made his way to the CEO’s office.

“Taguchi-san, sorry I’m late.” He greeted and stepped in. Taguchi was just in the midst of a joke and to Ueda’s relief (or not) their guest was laughing along, seated at Taguchi’s desk with his back facing Ueda.

The CEO’s eyes crinkled with his grin as he waved Ueda over, “Oh its fine! Ueda-kun, this is our client from 8Alive, Koyama Keiichiro. Koyama-kun, this’s my PA, Ueda Tatsuya.”

Ueda’s eyes widened at the man and the expression was reflected back at him. They both quickly recovered and Koyama flashed a polite smile at him while extending his hand and shook Ueda’s firmly, “Nice to meet you, Ueda-kun.” They made eye contact and nodded at each other. Ueda gulped, suddenly this whole sexual harassment case made a lot of sense.

Taguchi looked between them and grinned, “Alright, now about the case.” He began, “Koyama-kun, are you sure you haven’t noticed your coworkers acting a little…inappropriately?” He watched as the other man giggled and shook his head.

“Oh my goodness, no!” He chuckled warmly, “We’re all practically like family. I’m sorry for troubling you Taguchi-san but I’m not sure why Nishikido-san contacted you. I certainly don’t feel harassed.”

Taguchi frowned and looked at Ueda, “He says there’s nothing out of the ordinary at the office.” Ueda sighed and leaned forward on the desk, narrowing his eyes on Koyama making him squirm a little.

“Really now? Any inappropriate touches anywhere? “ He stressed and Koyama shook his head, “I mean…it’s not…inappropriate….I think?” He faltered under Ueda’s intense gaze and Taguchi was impressed. This was like some police interrogation now.

Taguchi sighed, “Okay, we don’t usually hold workshops on sexual harassment, but your HR director did insist that we talk to you but…it was your boyfriend who sent the complaints wasn’t it?”

Koyama groaned, “Argh…so it was Shige.” Before he could continue speaking there was a knock on the door.

“Taguchi-san, we have another employee from 8Alive here.” Tachibana smiled and led in another man with dark hair and bright eyes that immediately locked on to Koyama’s.

“There you are!” The man grumbled and Koyama pouted, “Shigeee~~ you didn’t have to follow me!” He whined.  
Ueda tapped Taguchi on the shoulder, “That must be the boyfriend.” He whispered as the man came forward to shake their hands, “Kato Shigeaki, I’m Koyama’s co-worker.” He introduced himself before sitting down next to Koyama who continued pouting at him.

Ueda and Taguchi wore matching knowing looks as they both leaned forward, “And?” They chorused together.

Kato shifted uncomfortably, “I’m…I’m his boyfriend. I was the one who sent the complaints to HR.” He grumbled. “Nobody asked you to.” Koyama hissed under his breath which earned him a pinch on the thigh.

Ueda smirked, they were cute. He fixed the couple in front of them with a stern look, “Alright so what’s going on exactly? Taguchi-san has meetings to attend to later today so if you’ll be needing our services it’s best that you be quick so that we can confirm something already.”

Taguchi nodded appreciatively at Ueda, he didn’t have any meetings later that day but they didn’t know that. “Kato-san, why do you think your…boyfriend…is being harassed at work?”

“Because he is!” Kato spoke exasperatedly as if he’d been arguing this case for years, “Kei…Koyama-san doesn’t acknowledge it as harassment but as a witness and honestly someone who’s concerned for his wellbeing, I’m telling you he’s being physically molested by our co-workers almost every day.”

“They’re just being friendly….” Koyama pouted and Ueda rolled his eyes, “We’re not the police you know…”

Kato nodded, “I know, I know. And it’s not something that we need to go to the police for. I was just telling Nishikido-san that our branch needs to be told what’s considered appropriate conduct at the workplace. They need to be educated.”

Taguchi grinned, “And that, we can do! I think I’m satisfied with this meeting. I’ll contact your HR director and we’ll fix something up. Appropriate conduct in the workplace is a very important thing that every good employee should know.” He nodded wisely and Ueda snorted.

After all parties were satisfied (Koyama still continued to pout insisting it wasn’t harassment) Ueda escorted the couple out of Taguchi’s office, he watched them as Koyama wrapped his arm around Kato’s shoulders not-so subtly.

Taguchi went back to his office and checked the rest of his schedule before reaching for Nintendo DS. Just as he was about the push the power button he yelped as Ueda poked his head through the open door, “Hey, I know I came in late but is it ok if I take a quick lunch break?” Taguchi peeked through the opening of his office door to see Koyama’s figure still lingering at the lobby and looked back at Ueda curiously, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you later.” Ueda said with a cheeky grin before disappearing behind the door.

****************

 

Ueda returned to the office half an hour later with a satisfactory smirk on his face as he returned to his desk. On cue, Taguchi buzzed his extension, “Ueda-kun, come in to my office now! You said you’d tell me later.” He whined and Ueda chuckled at his eagerness.

Taguchi was impatiently tapping his foot as Ueda entered, “So? What happened? Did you go for lunch with those two?” He asked and Ueda shook his head.

“No, just with Koyama.” Taguchi narrowed his eyes suspiciously because Ueda looked like he knew something.

“Don’t tell me…you know him too?” when Ueda nodded Taguchi groaned, “How many people do you know, Ueda-kun!?” He had to laugh at how absurd this was and Ueda chuckled along making himself comfortable in Taguchi’s office, “Hey, it’s called networking and it’s for the benefit of our company.” 

Taguchi wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes from all the laughter, “True, so Koyama-san worked at the Osaka company with you and Nishikido-san?” He took a sip of his coffee.

 

“No. The strip club.”

 

And for the third time that day, Taguchi choked.


	8. Part 8

 

“G’morning.” Ueda greeted as he entered the office, luckily he managed to wake up to his first alarm this time. Tachibana smiled and greeted him with a nod as he was busy with a call. Ueda headed for his desk and noted that Taguchi hadn’t come in yet. He powered up his desktop and checked his emails, finding the newest one from Nishikido about the sexual harassment workshop.

Ueda grinned remembering the look on Taguchi’s face when his boss found out Koyama was his co-worker at the strip club. 

_“THAT GUY? B…but he looked so…decent.” Taguchi faltered as Ueda begin to glare at his implication. Sure enough Koyama did look like a simple middle-class office worker in his crisp and clean business suit and hair neatly parted on the side. Ueda honestly didn’t recognize him at the first glance only because back when he knew him, Koyama was the epitome of flashy with his brassy honey blond hair that grew past his nape and the tight form-fitting clothes he used to wear that left nothing to the imagination of his long lithe body…and those were his normal clothes._

_Ueda leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face, “Yeah, he was the only pole dancer in our club and he was really good. He tried to train some of us to take on the job but no one was as good at it as him.”_

_“W…wait so he taught you how to pole dance?” Taguchi spluttered, remembering what Kamenashi had told him that morning. Ueda quickly stood up, “Pfft…no! Like hell I’d want to do that kind of stuff, I just danced like normal and stripped and…” Ueda caught himself at the way this conversation was going,_

_“…And back to a more work-related topic…” He began looking pointedly at Taguchi who just stared at him wide eyed. “So apparently Koyama met Kato-san a few years ago and decided to sober up and get a proper job. In the end they both ended up as journalists for 8Alive. Though I know Koyama from back then and I don’t blame Kato-san…he can get a little…touchy.” Ueda rolled his eyes at Taguchi’s look of concern, “No, he didn’t touch me! And what I mean by touchy is that he likes the attention people give him. He probably hasn’t left behind his stripper habits.”_

_“You mean like you?” Taguchi spoke and Ueda grumbled, “Okay! We’re done here. Just thought I’d let you know so that you can prepare what to do for the workshop.”_

Ueda sighed; he had to admit he felt a little uncomfortable dealing with this if it was going to constantly remind Taguchi of that stripper incident. The whole theme of sexual harassment in the workplace made him uneasy and seeing how close Kato and Koyama could be while working together, Ueda didn’t know if he should feel envious or a little weirded out. And speak of the devil, Ueda jolted out of his reverie as his phone vibrated, an unknown number flashed on the screen.

“Ueda-kun? Is that you? This is Koyama.” The man’s hushed voice could be heard on the other end as Ueda answered. He grunted, “Yeah yeah, how did you get my number?”

“Oh, I called the office and Tachibana-san gave me your contact.” Ueda glared at the general vicinity of the front desk.

“Ueda-kun…I don’t think I can do it…please…can’t you?” The man sounded nervous and Ueda should’ve seen this coming. While Nishikido did ask for it to be a sexual harassment workshop, he did emphasize the need for a talk about inter-office relationships as well. That was exactly what Ueda was doing now, playing the role of couples counsellor.

“What did I say about honesty? Koyama you have to tell Kato sooner or later, think of how he’ll react once he finds out you’ve been hiding this from him.” He spoke sternly and really, this was for his own benefit as well. There was no way in _hell_ he was going near a pole.

“I know, I know but…Ueda-kun, Shige’s so…intellectual. He likes me now as a journalist but he might not like me as much once he finds out I was a…you know…” He whispered and judging from the echo Ueda had to guest Koyama was holed up in the office washroom.

“I hardly doubt he’s into you for your brains.” Ueda began and snorted at Koyama’s weak protest. “Anyway, you love him right? Then I don’t see why there should be anything to hide from someone you love.” He was satisfied with his bit of motivational talk and now was the time to deliver the winning blow, “Besides, I’m sure you’d rather have him know beforehand from your own mouth instead of having him finding out the hard way right? You know, like Kato-san unknowingly walking into the bar and finding you twirled around the pole like that?”

“Oh my god if that happens I’d just _DIE_!” Koyama shrieked and Ueda flinched, “Yeah...die.” Just like how he died a little inside when Taguchi found him.

“But…you’re right…I love Shige and I know he loves me. So he has no choice but to love every part of me right?” He giggled slightly and Ueda smiled along, “Yeah, you’ll be fine. And don’t you dare chicken out! I’m coming there tonight to make sure you do it!”

Satisfied with the chat and knowing that Koyama felt more confident in himself, Ueda finally ended the call.

After a while Taguchi came into the office, happily chatting away with Kamenashi.  “Good morning, Uepi!” He smiled brightly and Ueda paused, his fingers hovering over his keyboard.

“Uepi?”  He raised an eyebrow.

Taguchi spluttered, “Oh no no! I’m sorry! I was…um…no I mean I was talking to Kame here about this guy Yamapi and my tongue slipped and…yeah.”

Kamenashi cackled, “Smooth~” He gave Ueda a wink and headed to his cubicle.

Ueda shook his head before eyeing Taguchi, “Yeah, anyway Nishikido sent us an email. He wants us to look at something that might help us decide on the contents for the workshop.”

Taguchi straightened himself out and nodded, “Ok, let’s look at it in my office.”

“Ueda-kuuun~” Kamenashi called from his cubicle, “You’re coming with us tonight right?”

“Yeah!” Ueda called back and grinned at Taguchi’s questioning gaze, “Akanishi’s finally launching pole dancing week tonight.” He scoffed at the look of panic on his boss’s face, “I’m going there to _watch_ , I’m not involved in this at all.”

As they entered Taguchi’s office, Ueda decided that enough was enough. He was tired of all these looks he’d been given whenever the stripper topic came up and he’d better sort this out now because after tonight it’ll just get worse. “Taguchi-san, really what’s your problem with me doing…that kind of stuff.” He began and his boss faltered, nearly tripping over himself as he sat down on his chair.

“I…um nothing Ueda-kun, like I said it’s your business.” He gave a shaky laugh for good measure and Ueda narrowed his eyes. 

“I know, we said that but still you keep _looking_ at me like that and I have no idea what that look means! What is it, Taguchi-san? Are you uncomfortable working with a stripper?” He was frank and he didn’t care if Taguchi was uncomfortable, he had a proper job for once and he didn’t like the leave things half-assed.

Taguchi gulped and took a deep breath, “I’m just…Ueda-kun, I care about you.” He said slowly, his eyes quickly darted away from his PA’s intense stare, “I care about all my employees.” He quickly added before Ueda could say anything, “That kind of…line of work. It’s dangerous isn’t it? You’re inviting people to look at you that way, maybe even touch you and think inappropriate thoughts about you. Who knows what kind of creepy dudes might want to come up to you and harass you…” Taguchi’s eyes suddenly widened in realization and Ueda smirked.

“So that’s how Kato-san must feel…” Taguchi nodded in understanding and Ueda nodded along, coming up behind Taguchi to access his computer for Nishikido’s email. Ueda snorted, “For the record though, Kato-san doesn’t even know about Koyama’s side job.”

Taguchi blinked, “He doesn’t?”

Ueda shook his head, “Nope. But I gave Koyama a good talking to. They’re cute together. They shouldn’t keep things like that from each other.”

Taguchi smiled and patted Ueda on the back, “Good job. Don’t want Kato-san to find out the hard way right?” He chuckled and Ueda snorted.

 “Yeah like what happened with us…” He bit his tongue. Smooth. That was so smooth. If Taguchi had anything to say to that it was lost as he read the email from Nishikido. “Oh! Nishikido-san sent us some CCTV footage.”

Ueda nodded, “Yeah, he said he got this footage from last week. It’s good for us to know how the employees act around Koyama on a usual day.”

Taguchi grinned as they opened up the footage, “Ooh it’s like straight out of a detective drama. I don’t think most people would go this far.”

There were four clips, seemingly to revolve around Koyama’s movements in the office showing views of the front desk, the small shared workspace, pantry and photocopy room. There was sound for the recordings and Ueda noticed that Nishikido added a note to his email saying to use headphones but Taguchi didn’t seem to mind.

“Ah! There he is.” Taguchi spoke excitedly as they watched the screen, seeing Koyama walk into the office. They watched as he stopped by the front desk to chat with the receptionist who was blonder than Ueda with an impish yet charming face. That’s when they saw it.

 _“Kei-chaan~ don’t leave me. Stay here and play~~”_ The receptionist whined as Koyama was about to walk over to the workspace. They watched as Koyama gave an audible sigh before petting the man on the head, _“But I have work to do, Tegonyan.”_ He spoke in a doting voice but the receptionist continued to cling to the man’s arm.

“Ah, there it is.” Taguchi spoke as they watched ‘Tegonyan’ stroke Koyama’s bicep with a naughty smirk. _“So hardworking. Where’s Shige-chan?”_ The receptionist looked around and made a bold grab for Koyama’s ass over the table. Ueda raised his eyebrows as Koyama didn’t even show any signs of discomfort and made no effort to put some distance between them. He didn’t approve but maybe there was something more going on between him and the receptionist.

Just then another man entered the view; he had red hair and wore questionably baggy clothes.  _“Kei-chan! Tegonyan! Morning~ oh is that a new suit, Kei-chan?”_  The newcomer began to fondle the material of Koyama’s suit, hands dangerously nearing his inseam.  Taguchi and Ueda’s jaws nearly fell to the floor as they watched Koyama practically being molested from both sides right in the middle of the front lobby…and he was doing nothing to stop it.

“Oh, there’s Kato!” Taguchi hissed and they watched as the man entered the office and groaned at the sight in front of him, _“Seriously? Again?”_ He sighed exasperatedly. Completely oblivious to how wrong everything looked, they watched Koyama fix a loving look at Kato before removing himself from the wandering fingers of both his co-workers to stand in front of his boyfriend, _“Shige~! I missed you!”_ He hugged the man tight and kissed him on the cheek. “Aww…” Taguchi cooed at the public display of affection and at the way they could see through the fuzzy image that Kato was definitely blushing. _“I just went to park the car.”_ He muttered as he was dragged away by Koyama to the workspace.

“Yup, as I expected.” Ueda confirmed as they continued to watch the footage, switching over to the workspace view. A few uneventful minutes passed and they just watched as Koyama and Kato were focused on their respective desktops. A few more co-workers stopped by to chat with the couple and as Ueda expected again they were always touching Koyama. Some of the touches were innocent but there were a few times where it just looked like borderline molestation and unsurprisingly Koyama’s face remained cheery as ever. “Look at Kato.” Taguchi whispered without really having to and they could see the man squirm uncomfortably as he watched his boyfriend.

“It’s not really full out harassment though…they’re just touching. No suggestive remarks…and everyone obviously knows Kato and Koyama are together.” Ueda commented and Taguchi nodded, stroking his chin in contemplation. “It’s always them touching Koyama though…he doesn’t really touch back. You said he was touchy?”

Ueda hummed, “He was, but I guess that’s the one thing that changed about him…eh?” He narrowed his eyes as they watched Koyama get out of his seat and walk over to Kato’s side of the workspace. _“Shige-chan.”_ He purred and wrapped his arms around Kato’s shoulders. Taguchi’s eyes were blown wide as Koyama leaned down to nibble on Kato’s ear and soon enough they were locking lips in the middle of the office.

“Seriously? They’re making out at work?!” Ueda screeched and Taguchi flailed his arms around, “That’s NOT appropriate conduct!” Both men spluttered as they watched Koyama seemingly whisper something into Kato’s ear before pulling him by the hand and heading to the photocopy room.

Taguchi gulped and turned to Ueda, “Do we have to watch the rest?”

Ueda didn’t like to leave things half-assed. He unwillingly opened the footage in the photocopy room.

“OH MY GOD!” Taguchi screeched, practically throwing himself over his computer’s speakers as the sounds of moans and groans echoed in his office. “ON THE PHOTOCOPY MACHINE!? SERIOUSLY!? THAT’S NOT APPROPRIATE CONDUCT!!” He cried and Ueda chuckled, watching the two men practically hump each other against the poor piece of office machinery.

“This isn’t funny, Ueda-kun!” Taguchi whimpered and Ueda laughed louder, “I always knew Nishikido was a voyeur!”

Just then the door to Taguchi’s office opened leaving the CEO to squeak in shock. “Are you guys watching porn?” Kamenashi spoke with Nakamaru trailing behind him, both men had their eyes wide open in interest. Taguchi wiped his hands down his face. This was going to be a challenge. Definitely a challenge!


	9. Part 9

That evening, Taguchi, Ueda, Kamenashi and Nakamaru piled themselves into a cab and were on their way to Akanishi’s bar for the launch of pole dancing week. They asked Tachibana to join them but the younger man merely shook his head politely (apparently his boyfriend Haru didn’t approve of him visiting such places).

“I don’t get it…” Nakamaru scrunched his eyebrows in thought, “Why is there a pole dancing week? So he’s just going to have the pole there for a week and dismantle it afterwards? That’s a waste of money!”

Kamenashi smirked at the remark while Ueda nodded saying pole installation fees were apparently pretty pricey, “Nah, they’ll have the pole up there permanently. Apparently it’s just a promo for free flow beer and Akanishi said he finally got his pole dancer to agree to three performances per night for this week only.”

Taguchi raised his eyebrows at Kamenashi’s words, “Wait…so Koyama’s actually going to be performing tonight?” He turned to Ueda who nodded, “He’d better! I talked him into it, I swear if he backs out at the last minute…”

“Wait, wait! _Koyama_?” Now it was Kamenashi’s turn to look at them wide eyed, “You mean that sexually harassed guy we were watching getting fucked against the photocopier by his boyfriend?”

“Yeah. He was making a fuss with Akanishi and nearly wanted to quit because he didn’t want Kato to know. But hopefully they sorted things out by now.” Ueda explained and the other three nodded with varying looks of awe on their faces.

They were greeted at the door by Akanishi himself amidst the obnoxious sound of the bass blearing through the speakers. The pole stood ominously on a stage in the middle of the seating area. It was surrounded by velvet ropes with a solitary chair behind those ropes facing the stage.  “Hey guys! You made it just in time! The dancer’s just getting warmed up backstage.” Akanishi spoke with a grin and Taguchi blinked, “But there’s nothing behind the stage?”

“Ignore him.” Ueda rolled his eyes while they pushed themselves through the crowd to search for seats; Akanishi quickly ushering them to a reserved table up front.  He quickly came back with their drinks while apparently searching the area for something.

“Looking for someone?” Kamenashi asked and the bar owner nodded, “Yeah…Koyama requested for…ah! There he is.”

The four men turned to see Kato walk into the bar seemingly looking lost. He was still dressed in his office attire. Ueda could tell something was horribly wrong.

Beating Akanishi to the chase he bolted from his seat towards the journalist, “Kato-san.” He greeted the man who looked back at him with wide eyes, “Oh! You’re Ueda from Tagutive Corp right?” He looked at the man and he then noticed the rest of their group seated at the table, “Um…Kei…I mean…Koyama told me to meet him here.” He looked around behind Ueda for any sign of his boyfriend.

“That’s all!? That’s all he told you?!” Kato jumped a little at the other man’s barked question before nodding uncertainly.

 “I’m…sorry? I mean I don’t know what kind of place this is. I’ll probably go look for him and we’ll leave.” He said but before he could move further into the bar Akanishi was right in his face and had a hand on his shoulder. “Are you Kato Shigeaki?”

At Kato’s nod the bar owner had a wide smile on his face, “Well come right this way, sir.” He dragged the confused man along right up to the stage, behind the velvet ropes and seated him on the chair, ignoring his questions and pleas to be let go.

Ueda’s eyes widened and flashed to Taguchi at their table who was waving his arms frantically at him “He doesn’t know!?” Taguchi mouthed and Ueda shook his head causing his boss to smack a palm to his forehead. Ueda had to work fast. He dashed across the seating area and leaped behind the bar to where he knew the dressing rooms were. He skidded to a halt preventing him from running head first into Koyama himself.

 “ARE YOU CRAZY!?” He shrieked at the pole dancer who blinked at him in confusion.

“Ueda-kun! Um…I’m about to go on stage.” He squeaked at Ueda’s growl, “And when are you telling Kato? By showing him!?”

Koyama gave a shy smile, “I’m pretty bad with words so I thought this would be easier...”

“You’re gonna give the man a heart attack.” Ueda grumbled.  

The pole dancer had a cat-like grin on his face as he patted Ueda on the shoulder, “Trust me, I’ve made my decision. I can handle it. Thanks for talking me into it.” Ueda wasn’t expecting the bone-crushing hug but was thankful that Koyama was called to the stage so he quickly made his way back to the table.

“Please tell me you did some damage control.” Taguchi looked at him with pleading eyes, he felt so bad for the clueless Kato right now, “Akanishi _handcuffed_ him to the chair! He’s helpless.”  They both looked at where Kato was pitifully struggling against his restraints, he turned his head around and gave their group a wild eyed look that screamed ‘What the fuck is going on!?’ Ueda gulped, “I don’t even know anymore.” He sighed and grabbed his beer.

The lights finally dimmed and Akanishi took the mic, “Ladies and gentleman~” He winked at the very confused Kato seated on the chair and proceeded to do a lengthy and very unnecessary intro to pole dancing week, “I bet you’re all on the edge of your seats for this one, and I know birthday boy here can’t wait for his ‘present’ (he ignored Kato’s countless protests throughout the speech of “IT’S NOT MY FUCKING BIRTHDAY!”) let’s give it up for the debut of our resident pole dancer, KittyKat!”

Akanishi stepped off the stage as a single spotlight focused on a figure that slowly sauntered on to the stage as the low bassline of a raunchy tune began to play through the speaker. Ueda and Taguchi nervously watched Kato visibly stiffen in more ways than one as the light adjusted to reveal Koyama’s long and lithe figure on the stage fully decked out in a business suit. He eyed Kato mischievously while slowly circling around the pole but not touching it. With a subtle sway of his hips he shrugged off his blazer first. He chewed his lip and gave Kato a seductive look before finally taking hold of the pole with one hand and making a lewd gesture of stroking the length of the pole with his fist while his hips followed the motion of gyrating up and down to the slow beat of the song. He twirled around the base of the pole slowly making sure to stretch out his long legs before leaning his entire body against the pole with his arms stretched above his head and his hips gently thrusting in the air. His pink, lightly glossed lips parted as he let out a soft moan and he trailed his fingers near his collar along his silky purple tie.

With a swift motion his tie came undone and he flung the silky material in Kato’s direction making the restrained man gape even further as the tempo of the music sped up and Koyama was now stretching his long legs across the pole, practically defying gravity as he used his legs to propel himself around the pole a few times until he was lifted off the floor and up the pole. The audience gasped as let himself dangle by what looked to be by just his left ankle as he arched his body and threw himself backwards until he was practically hanging upside-down from the pole. The buttons of his shirt had dramatically come undone as he arched his body and he allowed the thin cotton material to slide off his shoulders and onto the floor. 

Taguchi and probably their entire table watched with their jaws to the floor, the CEO nudged his PA a little, “Hey, check on Kato. Is he ok?” Ueda glared at the other man seeing as he wouldn’t take his eyes off the pole dancer who apparently now shucked off his trousers in mid-air judging by the second gasp from the audience, to be honest this was one of Koyama’s milder routines if Ueda remembered correctly but one look at Kato and Ueda was visibly worried the man might pass out there and then with a raging hard on. 

Koyama had finally slowed down in his twirls and lowered himself to the ground now only clad in tight fitting black briefs. He was eyeing Kato with a predatory smirk as he flicked his tongue to lick at his lips like a cat stalking its prey. He sauntered his way over to Kato’s chair and immediately straddled the man’s lap. Kato couldn’t take his eyes of the man on him but at the same time he couldn’t really keep his eyes open with the way Koyama’s hips were rolling on him. Koyama continued to grind against him, barely able to keep his moans under control as the sounds he and Kato were making were now rivaling the loud audio that was still playing from the speakers.

Taguchi squirmed in his seat, “Oh God not again. They do know they’re in _public_ right?” He tried to speak over the loud cries and how the audience (and Akanishi…and Kamenashi…well practically the entire bar) were cheering for them.

Ueda sighed because this at least was something new, he never knew Koyama to be the type to give lap dances.

Just as Kato and Koyama were getting riled up, at this point Koyama had shifted to leaning his back against Kato’s chest as he grinded his ass on the man’s erection. The music ended and the lights dimmed.  Akanishi quickly speaking on the mic taking over the MC for the night.

Half an hour later, Kato came stumbling out from the back of the bar looking disheveled and his face was glowing red. He awkwardly approached their table, “Um…can I join you guys?” He spoke shyly and Kamenashi smirked before shoving the poor man to sit in between himself and Ueda. A beer was quickly brought to him by Akanishi, “It’s on the house, buddy.” The man said with a wink.

Ueda eyed Kato who still seemed to look shaken up, “So? Are you okay with it?” 

Kato took a big gulp of his beer, “My boyfriend’s a pole dancer.” He shuddered, “Damn, I should’ve known…there’s no way a journalist can ride a dick like th…ARGH FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!” Kato growled and drank more beer. Ueda sighed and patted the man’s back, “You’ll be ok.”

Taguchi grinned at how Ueda was supporting the man, somehow he felt proud that his PA managed to handle that situation well even though it wasn’t really his job to do so. “You’re one lucky guy, Kato-san! Koyama looked amazing on that stage!” He said with a bright grin.

“Excuse me?” Both Kato and Ueda chorused at the same time, both with equal looks of rage/jealousy. Taguchi blinked, “Eh…eh? Did I say something wrong?”

They stayed on for the entire night while Koyama came out on stage for two more performances as promised minus the lap dancing and Ueda was right to assume his first performance was his milder routine. The way Kato was fidgeting in his seat next to him was a big enough indicator. For the final performance of the night, Koyama came out in a skimpy outfit complete with cat ears and a tail. Akanishi explained that for the last performance of the night guests were allowed to _tip_ the dancer and they were all amused to see the flock of women _and_ men that clambered to stuff bills into the waistband of Koyama’s briefs.

With a collective shove from Taguchi, Ueda, Kamenashi and even Nakamaru, Kato once again stumbled towards the pole dancer with his face redder than ever before as he tucked a 100,000 yen bill in Koyama’s underwear. 

***************

“Thanks a lot for everything, Ueda-kun! Now I can live freely with my Shige~” Koyama giggled as Kato tightened his arm around the man’s waist as they left the bar. The lights were already off and Akanishi was lazily mopping the floor. Ueda sighed, “You gave everyone a panic attack you know…but as long as you guys are ok together.”

Everyone said their goodbyes and headed for separate directions. Just as they saw Koyama and Kato off the sky began to rumble and it began to rain.

“Shit, I don’t have an umbrella…” Ueda muttered under his breath. Taguchi chuckled, “Ueda-kun doesn’t seem like the type to carry an umbrella around anyway.”

They were the only ones left as they took shelter near a taxi stand. Taguchi fidgeted slightly before speaking,”Hey, my place isn’t that far from here. We can just take a cab there…why don’t you stay over?”

Ueda eyed him suspiciously, “Are you serious?”

“Ah! I mean…I know it’s not professional for an employee to sleep with his boss…I mean…AH! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Taguchi flailed his arms frantically and Ueda just had to laugh out loud, “I know what you mean idiot! Fine, fine, let’s go I’m cold!” He chuckled loudly as they clambered into a taxi; both still giggling like a bunch of high school girls.

************

“You know…you’re _allowed_ to spend the money you earn as a CEO right?” Ueda grumbled as he shifted uncomfortably on the futon. Taguchi turned on his side and elbowed Ueda’s ribs in the process, “OW!! GODDAMMIT!”

Taguchi winced, “Sorry, sorry, a good CEO always lives a simple and humble life to be happy.” Taguchi explained, reaching above himself for his bookshelf before pulling out a worn out book, “See? It’s all according to Sakurai Sho-senpai’s teachings! He’s a great motivational speaker you know.”

Ueda blinked, “Are you _sure!?_ You mean all this while you’ve been taking advice from a self-help book!?” The PA grunted before burying himself deeper into the blankets, “For the record I don’t think he meant living in a 4 tatami mat room as being _humble_.” He shifted and kneed Taguchi in the stomach in the process. “You should really warn people about this before inviting them back to your place; I didn’t think I’d be _actually_ sleeping with you.”

Taguchi laughed while scratching the back of his head, “Well…you’re probably the first to come here…” Ueda huffed at that, “We’re going to have a serious talk about this in the morning! Now shut up, I’m tired.”

With a sigh Taguchi smiled and snuggled deeper into the blankets, “Ok. Gnight, Uepi~”

 

**************

 

It was still raining, the pitter-patter of the rain drops echoing off the rooftop woke him up.

It was cold, and he could feel his body shiver in the darkness. Dawn hadn’t broken yet.

He felt the body next to him shift slightly and seeking the warmth, he turned towards it.

Kiss.

 


	10. Part 10

“One brew of the day on the house as usual~” The barista grinned as he handed Kamenashi the drink, the man smirked in return, “Oh? I still have those loyalty points?”

Yamapi winked, “But of course. So where’s that sippy cup friend of yours?”

Kamenashi clicked his tongue and checked his phone for the nth time that morning, “Tried calling him but no answer…don’t blame him though last night was crazy.”

The barista gave a playful pout, “I wish you’d take me to your crazy party nights someday.” He sighed dreamily and Kamenashi scoffed but his sassy retort was cut short as finally his phone vibrated.

“About time! Where are you? Don’t tell me you overslept, isn’t that bad CEO conduct?” Kamenashi barked but paused once he heard a squeak from the other line.

“KAME! KAME!! Help! I kissed Ueda! What do I do!?”

“…Ah… Hold that thought…” Kamenashi pulled his phone away briefly before glancing over his shoulder at the barista, “This Satuday. 7pm. Dinner?”

Yamapi gave another wink before slipping his number into Kamenashi’s blazer pocket.

 

****************

Taguchi frowned as Kamenashi had seemingly hung up on him, “Kame?? KAME!??” He shrieked desperately into the phone until said phone went flying into his wardrobe as the door to the bathroom opened.

Ueda walked out with his hair still damp and flat against his head, he looked like a tamed lion with his bangs down like that. He regarded Taguchi with an odd look before reaching for his work bag on the floor. “Bath’s all yours.” He murmured and Taguchi tensed up. Without another word he bolted for the bathroom.

15 minutes later, the CEO came out of the bath and stumbling towards his wardrobe to get his suit out. He was half way done with buttoning up his shirt when he turned around and yelped seeing Ueda sitting in the doorway; arms folded with an unreadable expression on his face.

“We need to talk.”

Taguchi let out a nervous chuckle as he fixed his tie, “Um…well, I live here. I know it’s small considering someone of my height but…”

“I’m not talking about your tiny ass apartment!” Ueda barked and Taguchi froze, feeling a chill go up his spine.

“I…I…”

“What was that last night!? Don’t tell me Koyama’s strip show gave you weird ideas…”

Taguchi gulped, “No…it’s not like that…”

“What was it then? Taguchi, you _kissed_ me while I was sleeping. We’re supposed to be giving a talk on sexual harassment in a few days and then you do this!?” Ueda’s face was  glowing red and Taguchi didn’t think he’d ever seen him this angry before. He was trapped in his own apartment with an angry Ueda.

“I think I like you.” Taguchi said slowly, not daring to look in the PA’s eyes. He immediately heard Ueda exhale loudly.

“You _think_!?” He barked again and ran his hands through his hair in frustration, “Taguchi, you can’t just like someone overnight.” Taguchi flinched as he heard Ueda seemingly kick the wall in frustration,  “What’s wrong with you!? Why _me_!?”  He growled.

Taguchi didn’t know why. He didn’t know why but he knew Ueda was wrong, it wasn’t overnight.  It was definitely something building up but he had no idea what made him kiss his PA last night.

He took a deep breath, “I can’t explain it but it’s a fact. I know I have some feelings for you Ueda-kun.” He could see Ueda taking a breath to speak but he held up his hand to stop the man, “But I know it’s wrong, I’m your boss after all and that’s not appropriate conduct at all. Let’s just forget what happened last night and I’ll just have to live with my feelings.” He smiled back at Ueda who just fidgeted uncomfortably.

“…For someone who’s so hard up on CEO conduct you should be living in a bigger apartment….” Ueda grumbled and that was the end of that. They could move on.

 

************

…Or so they thought.

“Wait, what?” Taguchi asked out loud at his computer screen, staring back at him with an unimpressed look was Nishikido via Skype call.

“Look, your programme here seems good and it covers all the points I want but I still want you guys to actually _show_ them what’s wrong. Role play, act things out.”

Taguchi scratched his cheek, “But…it’ll just be me giving the workshop. It’s our first time handling this sort of thing so I thought I’d test it out myself. I can’t role play by myself!” He whined and the Osakan rolled his eyes, “You have Ueda-kun right? Do it with him, I’m sure princess doesn’t mind.”

“Err that might….” Taguchi chewed the inside of his cheek. “I don’t think Ueda-kun would be comfortable with that.”

“Want me to ask him?” Nishikido grinned and there was something in that look that made Taguchi both scared and annoyed.

Taguchi grumbled, “Ugh…fine I’ll talk to him about it!” It really sucked that he couldn’t gather his usual event team for this but since the sexual harassment workshop was considered uncharted waters for their company none of the trainers seemed confident in doing it. And a good CEO needs to show his employees that there’s nothing to be afraid of in something new.

“Nishikido-san, what’s your HR policy on inter-office relationships?”

“Eh?” Nishikido paused in checking his nails, “If it’s about those two lover birds that caused this mess in the first place, they were together even before they joined the company.” He said with a resigned sigh, “Even if they weren’t the big boss doesn’t have anything against people doing what they want so we just leave it be.”

Taguchi frowned, “B…but isn’t it bad conduct? Doesn’t it get in the way of productivity? Surely your CEO has thought about these things.”

Nishikido rolled his eyes, “Oh please you can’t believe all that bullcrap. You know what’s a good boost in productivity? Letting people live their own fucking lives.” Taguchi flinched at the HR director’s harsh tone but let it slide thinking it must’ve been a Kansai thing.  

“I mean, yes we do need to keep tabs on the employees on what they do in the office and all but when it comes to dating and all that there really isn’t any rule.”

Taguchi nodded and seemed to be deep in thought. “People should do what they want huh…”

 

**************

Finally the day came for the sexual harassment/inter-office relations conduct workshop at 8Alive’s Tokyo office. The elevator dinged and Taguchi walked out while mentally going over his opening speech in his head. To his left Ueda strode beside him checking his phone for any last minute details he needed to go over with. He wore a loose grey dress shirt with the top two buttons undone and “The tightest pair of pants you own.” Was the exact words of Taguchi’s awkward text the night before.

 _“I’m so so sorry, Ueda-kun! I know it sounds so weird but it’s for the role play. Please? It’s for the quality of our work!”_  Was his next text and Ueda rolled his eyes and just went along with it. He was pretty much on board with the whole role play talk and just grunted when Taguchi had brought up the topic with him at first. The air between them was as awkward as ever after the ‘talk’ in Taguchi’s apartment but Ueda knew how to be professional and he knew Taguchi would do all it took to bring out the best in his work, and that was exactly what Ueda had to keep an eye on.

Trailing just behind the two men was Iwahashi, the company intern who pretty much worked with Kamenashi in the marketing department but Taguchi decided today would be a good experience for the kid and he needed someone to carry and hand out the training materials anyway.

“I’m sorry in advance for any trauma you’ll be facing after this.” Ueda spoke over his shoulder at the intern who struggled to balance the stack of papers in his hands.

He shrugged and grinned back at Ueda, “It’s fine. I read the brief and I guarantee I won’t be traumatized.”

“As expected Mako-chan only hires the best.” Taguchi beamed proudly at Ueda who rolled his eyes and walked ahead of them to the glass doors of 8Alive’s office.

They were immediately greeted by that flashy blond receptionist who ushered them to the conference room where the workshop was going to be held at. “I know what this’s about~” Tegoshi, was what was on his nametag but he introduced himself as Tegonyan, playfully elbowed Ueda’s side. “I’m sure Ryo-chan called you guys in because everyone in the office just can’t resist me, am I right?”

Ueda wanted to say something snarky but it just died in his mouth for some reason, “Yeah…that’s exactly why.” He resigned to that and walked off to help Taguchi to set up.

Ueda loitered around making sure If Taguchi needed any help and giving Iwahashi a hand in arranging the tables. He watched silently as the employees slowly trickled in to the room. He saw Koyama and Kato enter the room side by side and nodded at them as they passed him. On cue, Tegoshi waved his hands high in the air, “Kei-chaaan~~ Come sit here! Sit with me!” He chirped and Koyama giggled good- naturedly and sat next to the blond with Kato grimacing and sitting on his other side.

“Shige looks like he ate something bad.” Tegoshi stuck his tongue out at said man who did the same back at him. Ueda shrugged and continued arranging the training materials while idly eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Oh Kei-chan, what’s with those bruises on your arm? Did Shige get too rough on you last night?” Tegoshi spoke while touching Koyama’s forearm and the dark red marks on his wrists and inner arm.

“No, no, that’s just pole burn.”  

Both Ueda and Taguchi choked and Kato promptly kicked Koyama in the back of his knee (where there were more bruises). “Ow! Shige…OH! I mean…um forget what I said. It was Shige’s fault.”

With that the other man grunted in annoyance and Ueda had to excuse himself to the bathroom to avoid laughing out loud at the whole scene.

 

**************

“Ahem…and now that we’ve gone over the general points of sexual harassment let’s move on to the next activity.” Taguchi beamed at his audience, which apparently only consisted of 4 people (the other 6 employees conveniently had location work to do). He gestured for Ueda to come forward and the PA gulped, this was the part he was forever dreading.

“Now, we’ll be doing a little role play here. I want you guys to pair up…mm…how about Tegoshi-kun and Koyama-kun in one pair and Masuda-kun with Kato-kun.” Taguchi started and ignored Kato’s glare of protest.

They were told to take turns in acting out what should be a typical office-like situation based on whatever the pairs pulled out from the hat that Ueda passed around the participants. “Now just act how you usually do during a regular day at the office.” Taguchi instructed.

“Kei-chaan~ Could you photocopy this for me please??” Tegoshi wrapped his arms around Koyama’s shoulders while rubbing the man’s forearm.

“Okay!” Koyama smiled and nodded without a hint of hesitation.

“WRONG!” Taguchi barked and everyone in the room (Ueda included) jumped at his sudden outburst. “Tegoshi-kun! The situation says YOU’RE supposed to ask Koyama-kun what needs to be photocopied! And what did I just say about personal space!?” Taguchi screeched in frustration.

The receptionist shrugged, “But I don’t feel like making copies, Kei-chan would do it for me anyway if I asked him to.”

“Now look at this.” Taguchi spoke gesturing the distance between Masuda and Kato when they acted out their part of asking the other to go for lunch. “This is called _appropriate_ personal space. Was touching ever necessary? Hm? Koyama-kun?” Taguchi looked at the man who jolted in his seat when he was called.

“N…no?”

“Exactly! And let’s say if they did touch…” Taguchi patted Masuda on the back, “This is an appropriate office-friendly touch.” He watched the audience and noted that Tegoshi was yawning and was picking at his fingernails. Grumbling, he barked another order, “OKAY! Switch partners. Tegoshi pair up with Kato and Masuda pair up with Koyama.”

Upon seeing that the blond had no problem in being all touchy over Kato as well, Taguchi groaned. “So the real problem is the receptionist…” He hissed under his breath and Ueda was visibly concerned over his bosses’s wellbeing seeing the vein throb in his neck.

“Sensei~” The blond raised his hand, “Is it time for a break yet?”

Taguchi opened his mouth to protest but in that moment there was a knock on the door and a familiar face walked through the door. “Yamapi?”

The barista glared at Taguchi and promptly pointed at his nametag before setting down the trays of to-go cups. “I got a call from Kame saying you guys needed this. Here’s the bill.” He stuffed the piece of paper in Taguchi’s hand. The CEO grumbled, “Kame called you but no loyalty points?”

Yamapi scoffed, “You’re not Kame~ I expect payment tomorrow.” He waved a hand and walked out, disappearing as suddenly as he came.

Taguchi sighed, “Okay, 5 minute coffee break I guess.” He called out and everyone helped themselves to the hot drinks.

Ueda watched Taguchi whose brow was furrowed as he intently sipped his coffee. He looked like he was staring at something and following his gaze he saw Koyama and Kato huddled in a quiet corner of the room barely exchanging words but sitting closely next to each other.  

“Everything okay?” Ueda asked and snapped Taguchi out of it. The CEO hummed and took a large gulp of his coffee, “No…I was just thinking about things.” 

“Like maybe the problem _isn’t_ Koyama?” Ueda supplied and Taguchi rolled his eyes, “Yes, that’s definitely certain now! That receptionist is a _brat_.”

Ueda chuckled, he never saw this side of Taguchi. Somehow seeing him this frustrated and aggressive thrilled him. He choked on his coffee a little because, NO, he was NOT having those thoughts right now.

They both watched Kato bring his bag over and pulled out what looked like a homemade bento and two sets of chopsticks. It looked like he and Koyama didn’t have time for lunch that afternoon so they were both quickly eating up the food from the same bento. Ueda could barely hear Kato mumble through a mouth full of food, “Is it good?” and Koyama nodding fervently while shoveling more rice into his mouth.

Ueda shifted in his seat from where he sat next to Taguchi and inched his chair closer to the other man.

The workshop ended in a success with Taguchi resorting to giving Tegoshi a taste of his own medicine by touching him all over whenever he got the chance and making suggestive remarks so crude that Ueda felt his neck burning and he could see the same effect was happening to both Tegoshi and somehow Masuda as well. In the end the receptionist caved and cried, “I got it! Ok I won’t touch people like that, it’s uncomfortable! Ok message received!”

Taguchi grinned and they continued with giving Koyama and Kato a lecture on sexual intercourse in office grounds.

“How did you know!?” Koyama caught Ueda just as he was about to leave the office with Taguchi and Iwahashi. The man fumbled, “I…I…mean…we didn’t say anything. How did you know me and Shige…did…those kind of things here?”

Ueda smirked, “Blame it on HR.”

 

They were in Ueda’s car as he drove all three of them back to Tagutive Corp. Taguchi was definitely in high spirits after a successful workshop, “Once we get the good feedback from 8Alive we can add in office conduct workshops to our list of services~” He sing-songed while fiddling with Ueda’s stereo again.

“Oh by the way, sorry for suddenly changing the role play activity. I thought it’ll be a better way to show them by making them do the role play themselves.” Taguchi said with a grin.

Ueda hummed, “Yeah, it’s better that way.” And he mentally cursed himself for feeling disappointed that he couldn’t be part of the role play now. Especially after seeing Taguchi all over Tegoshi like that. Ueda gripped his steering wheel tighter.

 

**************

 

Ueda sighed as he came out of the shower, idly toweling his hair dry and turning the volume up on the TV that was showing some random drama. It was a Friday night but he didn’t really feel like doing much. He just wanted to collapse on his couch and sleep the weekend off but he knew he’d just be plagued with thoughts of his boss. It was hard enough to get through his shower in peace.

His phone vibrated and caught him off guard when he saw it was a text from Taguchi;

 _“Hey, can you meet me at Akanishi’s bar tomorrow night around 9? We need to talk.”_  

Ueda’s fingers hovered over the screen, mentally trying to think of a snarky reply. What kind of talk? Akanishi’s bar doesn’t seem to be the right place for a post-mortem meeting. He was about to hit send before another follow up message appeared.

_“About personal stuff…not professional.”_

 


	11. Part 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm extremely sorry for the long delay! But finally it's here! The last part of this multi-chap~! It doesn't end here though because I'll be posting up an omake shortly and there will definitely be more side-story's to add on to this universe. Oh and also I can finally post the fic poster for this~! Enjoy!!

Ueda was feeling edgy.  
  
He was sitting at a table at Akanishi’s bar and he was 10 minutes early. The wait wasn’t what made him edgy though, it was the atmosphere.  
  
The flashy strobe lights that usually illuminated the club during this hour were replaced by dim mood lighting. The usual eardrum-splitting bass-heavy dance music that blared through the club’s audio system was instead replaced by some sensual instrumental song with a lot of saxophone in it. The one thing that seemed remotely normal in all of this was Koyama on the pole but even this time his usual wild routine was different and he was just idly rolling his hips around the pole to match the music. Not too far away from the stage Kato was seated and shifting uncomfortably as usual with the way Koyama was slowly grinding his hips against the pole and in turn giving him a nice view of his ass.  
  
Ueda sent a silent prayer to the poor man who looked like his blood pressure was skyrocketing by the minute, must have something to do with the black tights that came with Koyama’s outfit for the night.  
  
Other than that the atmosphere was way too romantic for his liking and Ueda kept looking at the time on his phone and the door. He shouldn’t be the one to feel nervous in the first place, it was Taguchi who called him out anyway. He just had no idea what he was in for.  
  
It was 9pm sharp and Taguchi came walking through the doors. Ueda gaped. He was holding flowers.  
  
“Ueda-kun!” Taguchi sounded a little breathless as he took the seat across of him. This was the first time Ueda saw Taguchi without a suit but he was still dressed up elegantly in a maroon button up shirt and a black coat and well if Ueda thought he owned the world’s tightest jeans…Taguchi probably beat him to the title. Ueda had a hard time keeping his eyes up as Taguchi handed over the bouquet of red roses, “Here, these are for you.”  
  
“WHY!?”  Ueda yelled a little too loud for his liking.  
  
 The entire bar seemed to pause and all eyes turned to Ueda’s sudden outburst. At least, that’s how Ueda felt at that moment. There was even a loud squeaking sound from where Koyama had apparently missed his footing and slipped against the pole.  
Taguchi stared back at him with wide eyes and he looked a little hurt. “Y…you don’t want them?”  
  
Their surroundings seemingly resumed around them as Ueda took a deep breath, “I mean…thanks but…the occasion?” He hesitantly took the flowers from Taguchi who was grinning at him so hard he was nearly blinded.  
  
Taguchi sighed and folded his hands neatly on the table, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I did the other day… I wasn’t lying. I really like you…wait wait let me finish!” Taguchi flailed in panic as Ueda was ruffling his own hair again and looked as if he wanted to leave.  
  
Ueda sighed and sat back down. He eyed Taguchi closely and took a deep breath, “Are you really sure? What makes you like me so much? You hardly know anything about me…”  
  
Taguchi eyed him seriously, “I want to know you. I want to know everything about you and not as my PA but as Ueda-kun himself. That’s how serious I am about you.”  
  
The other man snorted, “And what drama script did you copy that from? I’m not that great of a person anyway, for all you know I could have several girlfriends and illegitimate children all over the country. ” Despite Ueda’s snarky comeback Taguchi slowly smiled at seeing Ueda’s face glow red and the way the man was covering his mouth with his hand to hide his blush.  
  
“Please? Will you give me a chance?” Taguchi begged one last time, trying to look Ueda in the eye and when the other man finally looked his way he exhaled loudly. “Wh..what about your whole ‘A good CEO does this and that’? A CEO shouldn’t be dating his PA…” That was Ueda’s final attempt at saving his pride here, because never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d actually be having this conversation with his boss.  
  
Taguchi beamed and carefully pried Ueda’s hands away from his face and held them on the table and he could feel Ueda cringe in embarrassment at their situation. “A good CEO always goes straight for what he wants.”  
  
He was at his limit now, he felt touched at Taguchi’s gesture but he was so anxious of everything that could happen in the future.  Ueda looked at the other man’s grin and he felt something warm stir in him, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this fuzzy and it was overwhelming.  
  
“Psst! Tatchan!”  
  
Audibly sighing in relief as the romantic atmosphere around them had somehow broken and they were back in the club, Ueda noticed the stage was now empty and the usual dance music was idly playing in the background. He turned around to where Akanishi had called him from behind the bar with a raised eyebrow. The man looked frantic and he was waving his hand for Ueda to come over.  
  
“Ah, Akanishi looks like a mess! You’d better go see what he wants.” Taguchi noted and patted Ueda’s hand.  
  
Sending a silent prayer to the heavens for this break, Ueda swiftly followed Akanishi backstage wondering what in the world could’ve happened.  
  
“Sorry Tatchan…but I really need you for this.” The club owner muttered and whimpered at Ueda’s glare. “What happened?” He asked suspiciously.  
  
Silently, Akanishi gestured to the dressing room, “See for yourself.” He opened the door to reveal Kato on his hands and knees on the floor in an apologetic bow at Koyama’s feet. They were both practically naked aside from the bath towels around their waists.  
  
“Okay what am I looking at here?” Ueda deadpanned.  
  
Koyama sniffled, he was sitting on a chair and on a particularly puffy looking cushion, “Sorry, Ueda-kun…I can’t dance the rest of the night.” He looked at Ueda with sad puppy eyes and Ueda immediately eyed Kato on the floor, “You couldn’t have kept it in until you reached home!?” He barked.  
  
The other man stumbled from where he was knelt on the floor, “Oh can you blame me!?” He barked back and gestured to the pair of black tights on the floor that were now all ripped up and barely recognizable. Ueda did a double-take at the tights; they looked like they were chewed off. Ueda rolled his eyes and looked back at Koyama, “Don’t be such a baby! You’ve worked through worse things than this.” At that note Kato’s eyes widened and Koyama shook his head frantically trying to ease both parties.  
  
“No he can’t. Seriously, Tatchan I can’t have the floor empty for long and you’re the only one who can fill in at such short notice.” Akanishi stepped in and Ueda gawked.  
  
“There’s no way I’m going near that pole!”  
  
“Please Ueda-kun! It’s really simple just do the basic routine that I taught you back then. You still remember, right?” Koyama supplied and Ueda glared back at the man.  
  
“I don’t bend that way anymore!”  
  
Kato snorted and Ueda glared, “Don’t you start! It’s your fault anyway. Maybe  _you_  should go up on stage.”  
  
“NO!” Both Kato and Koyama chorused at the same time.  
  
“Will SOMEONE just get on that stage!?” Akanishi cried and all eyes were on Ueda who’s face was now flaming red.  
  
He covered his face and let out an exasperated sigh, “Bfmm..Tgch…” He muttered.  
  
“What was that?” Akanishi asked while handing Ueda the costume Koyama was supposed to wear next.  
  
“TAGUCHI’S OUT THERE! I’M NOT HAVING A REPEAT OF WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME!” Ueda blurted out.  
  
Akanishi eyed him for a full ten seconds before handing him the rest of the costume, “Yeah sorry, don’t care. Someone has to go up there and you’re the only one with the expertise.”     
  
“Good luck!” Koyama chirped happily while Ueda gawked at the leathery material in his hands.  
  


****************

  
Taguchi looked at the back of the bar from where he sat nervously, Ueda had been gone for quite some time and he was beginning to get worried. He was just about to get up and go search for the man before the lights suddenly dimmed and Akanishi walked out from the back room.  
  
“Ladies and gentleman there’ll be a slight change for tonight’s entertainment.” He spoke into the mic as the music was cut off. “KittyKat’s been a little caught up backstage so for our next performance give it up for Killer Bee!”  
  
Taguchi blinked, where did he hear that name before?  
  
Ueda gulped as he reached the stage, Akanishi subtly brushed past him before whispering, “It’s the last performance for the night so dance for tips.” He winked leaving Ueda mortified.  
  
The music started up with a low beat and was a raunchy r&b tune. When the lights finally focused on Ueda as he strutted up to the pole his eyes immediately flashed to Taguchi’s direction and he froze in mid hip-thrust. The man had a predatory smirk on his face.  
  
Ueda awkwardly gripped the pole, his palms already sweating and making it slippery. The outfit he was in wasn’t making it comfortable either; skin tight black leather pants and some oddly fitted top that had barely enough material to cover his chest. Good thing he’ll be stripping them off soon. He twirled around the pole once before thrusting his hips against it in a body wave.  
  
He wasn’t as flexible and lanky as Koyama was so he didn’t dare attempt any risky aerial stunts. Instead he put more effort in his hips as he gyrated them around the pole, dipping down once and casting a coy look over his shoulder.  
  
He nearly faltered in his steps as he watched Taguchi move to the table nearest to the stage. If the man had wolf ears Ueda swore they’d be perked up in interest. He caught a glimpse of Koyama peeking from the back room and mouthing at him exaggeratedly “ _Take it off!”_  
  
Grunting, Ueda attempted to vault himself off the floor and up on the pole, clinging to it with his thighs for dear life as he twirled and he attempted to get the atrocious leather top off of him. He tugged at the material once and twice before practically ripping it off himself as he dangled upside down on the pole causing the audience to cheer.  
  
The music began to pick up in tempo as Ueda continued to grind against the pole upside down feeling all the blood rush to his head. He could see an upside down Taguchi eyeing him hungrily and he could hardly believe this was happening again. What surprised Ueda was he wasn’t feeling mortified at Taguchi’s leering, he felt hot all over. He hooked his ankles around the pole and was about to ease his leather pants down his hips when the movement suddenly caused his head to spin.  
  
Taguchi’s dark gaze was about all else he could see before all he knew was the stage floor hitting him hard as he slipped off.  
  


  
****************

“..DA! UEDA!! C’mon man get it together!”  
  
“Uepi! UEPI!”  
  
Ueda grumbled and spluttered as a pitcher full of beer was splashed on his face.  
  
“Did you really have to pour beer all over him!? I have water here you know.” Akanishi growled as Taguchi gave him back the pitcher.  
  
“Oh! He’s waking up, he needs some air.” Koyama cooed from where he was knelt over Ueda frantically fanning him with a magazine.  
  
Ueda blinked once and then twice before observing his surroundings. The bar was empty and his was still on the stage floor. There was something soft beneath his head which he came to realise was Taguchi’s lap.  
  
“You’re kidding me!” Ueda groaned and covered his face in agony. Taguchi made a distressed noise and patted his PA’s hair.  
  
“Aw, Uepi are you feeling ok? That was a hard fall, thank goodness you fell on your butt and not on your head!” Taguchi winced before glaring at Akanishi, “As his CEO I forbid him to do this again!”  
  
Ueda groaned once more in both agony and utter embarrassment.  
  
After several mortifying moments of Taguchi arguing with Akanishi on how Ueda definitely will  _not_  be touching the pole ever again and a tiny squabble between Koyama and Kato on how “I would’ve been fine if you hadn’t pounded me so hard!”, Ueda was finally safe on a taxi back to his place and away from that madness.  
  
He assured a very worried Taguchi that he would be fine on his own and didn’t need the man to accompany him home. Now if only he could have mustered the courage and dignity to return to the office on Monday morning.  
  


**************

Monday morning had come and Ueda was getting dressed for work when his phone beeped with several messages.  He huffed upon seeing the first few were from Koyama and Kato.  
  
 _Koyama: Ueda-kun! Good morning! I hope you’re feeling better. Again I’m so so so sorry for what happened the other day! I shouldn’t have made you go up on the pole when you haven’t done it for ages. As a professional, I truly apologize. Please forgive me!_ _L_  
  
Ueda snorted seeing a similarly worded message from Kato so he guessed Koyama made his boyfriend send an apology text as well. Rolling his eyes, he typed a quick reply to both assuring them he was fine and that they’d better work on their self-restraint in public next time. At the thought, he quickly sent another text to Koyama.  
  
 _Ueda: And you’d better be good to go by the next pole night! I’m not covering for you on that ever again._  
 _Koyama: Ahaha! I’m fine, I’m fine! Shige took care of me real good this weekend ;)_  
  
Ueda quickly placed his phone on the kitchen counter, not wanting to read the rest of that message that was disturbingly detailed. He continued to button up his dress shirt before looking at the mirror that hung near his genkan to fix his hair. He was about to reach for his blazer before his phone buzzed again.  
  
Gulping, he looked at it to see it was a text from Taguchi. His boss….boyfriend? Ueda shuddered in nervousness at the thought.  
  
 _Taguchi: Good morning, Uepi! I’m here at your apartment complex to pick you up~ I’ll be waiting downstairs <3 _  
  
Ueda’s eyes widened at the text and scrambled to his window that had a good view of the front of the building. There he could see Taguchi standing in front of a fancy-looking  SUV. He was looking pristine as usual with his crisp navy blue business suit.  
  
“When did you get a car?” Ueda gawked once he came over and seeing the luxury brand car upclose. He felt his cheeks heat up seeing Taguchi flash him a charming smile while holding the passenger door open.  
  
“Ah, I’ve always had it. I just prefer to take the trains like every other salary man. A good CEO is a modest one no?”  
Ueda huffed and got settled in the comfy leather seat. The engine purred as Taguchi pressed the ignition. Ueda glanced at the man from the corner of his eyes and silently cursed, he looked hot behind the steering wheel. “So…why the sudden change of heart then?”  
  
Taguchi chuckled, “Today’s the first day we come to work together as a couple. I wanted it to be special. Oh, there’s coffee here for you by the way.” He nodded at the to-go cup of black coffee sitting in the centre console cupholder next to Taguchi’s own sippy-cup.  
  
Ueda blushed even harder and gulped down his coffee. Today was going to be a long day.

  
*******************

It was nearing the end of the work day and Ueda felt even more mortified. His eyes were strained as he blinked at his computer screen, slowly sipping his 6th coffee of the day. He was starting to think Taguchi must have learned about ‘couples conduct in the workplace’ from Koyama and Kato instead of the other way round with how shameless he was acting.  
  
The CEO had held his hand the moment they entered the office, bringing all attention to them as Tachibana squealed in excitement while Kamenashi and Nakamaru congratulated them. Even the interns were cooing at them. Ueda felt like he should be planted in the office garden because his face felt red as a tomato by then.  
  
Taguchi also continued calling him Uepi the entire day despite Ueda’s complaints about keeping it professional. He was even more devastated during lunch when they headed to La Boheme together and Taguchi took him completely off guard with a kiss on the cheek. (In which afterwards they got reprimanded by Tachibana’s boyfriend: “If you’re going to do that go make out in the bathroom like all the other couples do. You’re defiling the fish.” )  
  
And now Ueda was sitting at his desk, the entire office had gone home for the day except his  _wonderful_ CEO and he was wondering what was taking the guy so long. Huffing he packed up his stuff and marched his way to Taguchi’s office.  
  
“Are you done yet?” Ueda gave a tired sigh, only to see Taguchi sitting back on his desk playing with his phone.  
  
“Eh? Uepi I was about to ask you that. I was waiting for you.” Taguchi spoke distractedly, “Hang on let me finish this level.”  
  
Ueda rolled his eyes and smiled, some things didn’t change at all. He plonked himself on one of the guest chairs and watched Taguchi with mild interest. The way Taguchi’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration almost made Ueda want to smooth his hand over the other guy’s forehead and wipe away the sweat gathering on his hairline. Ueda blinked at that thought; technically…he could do it if he wanted to.  
  
His fingertips twitched with the urge but he was shaken from his daze as Taguchi’s eyes flickered up at him, “Are you alright? You’ve been working really long today.” Finally he placed his phone on the desk and looked up at Ueda properly with a wide smile “I nearly thought you went home without seeing me.”  
  
“What? Of course not…I mean…” Ueda cleared his throat awkwardly, “So are we…dating or something now?” He shuffled his feet and almost wanted to strangle himself for how pitiful his voice sounded. He also wanted to strangle Taguchi who had then laughed at him in response.  
  
“Silly, Uepi! I’ve been saying that the whole day. Unless…you don’t want to?” Taguchi’s smile fell a little and Ueda quickly waved his hands, “No, no! I really want to this time! You’re an idiot but I want to!”  
  
Taguchi grinned, “Wow, thanks Uepi.”  
  
Ueda groaned, “You know what I mean! But…can you cut it out with the ‘Uepi’ business. I want us to at least be professional at work.” He pouted, “Over here, I’m your PA. Not your…boyfriend.”  
  
Taguchi hummed and rubbed his chin in thought, “Fair enough but…it’s after hours now so…” He trailed off while slowly pulling his tie loose. Ueda gulped at the gesture. “You know, Uepi. You never did get to finish that pole dance.” Taguchi’s usual bright and cheery smile slowly morphed into a sultry, hungry smirk.  
  
Ueda’s face was heating up as he watched Taguchi remove his blazer next, he knew where this was heading to. His eyes quickly darted to every corner of the room to make sure there were no cameras. “There’s no pole here, idiot.” He scoffed.  
The CEO sighed and pushed his chair back away from the desk in mock disappointment, “You’re right.” He pouted and then looked down, “My lap’s available though.” He said with a cheeky grin.  
  
“I can’t give a lap dance with no music.” Ueda stuttered stubbornly.  
  
Sighing, Taguchi reached for his phone and after a few taps a sexy R&B tune played from the speaker, “Oh and you probably can’t give lap dance with those clothes on, am I right?”   
  
Ueda rolled his eyes; he was really going to do this right here in his boss’s…boyfriend’s office.  “You asked for it.” He warned, backing away slightly making sure the door was locked.  
  
He turned back to face Taguchi and that stupid smug smirk on his face. With a subtle sway of his hips he slowly approached the man, letting his blazer slide down his shoulders before dropping to the floor. He carefully undid the buttons of his dress shirt and noticed Taguchi lick his lips hungrily. With a soft smirk he quickly slid his shirt off and with a roll of his hips he got his belt undone.  
  
Taguchi’s eyes widened comically as Ueda practically yanked his pants and underwear off in one go and immediately sat himself on the CEO’s lap. “Impatient, aren’t you?” Taguchi let out a nervous laugh at the intense look he was given and his voice soon broke off into a quiet moan once Ueda swiveled his hips in a slow circle on his lap. “You’re the one who’s getting impatient.” Ueda hissed as he felt the evidence of Taguchi’s arousal poking him in the ass.  
  
Taguchi’s eyes almost rolled to the back of his head at the movements Ueda was making with his hips. He switched from slow sensual rolls of his hips to quick and hard thrusts against Taguchi’s still-clothed abdomen. “C…careful that’s a designer shirt!” Taguchi whined and Ueda bit on his ear making the man squeak. “Oh, so you can afford a designer shirt but not a proper apartment?” Ueda mocked and licked at the lobe, doing suggestive things with his tongue as he continued to grind himself against Taguchi’s crotch.  
  
“Mmmh…Uepi…aren’t you going to do…ugh something?” Taguchi could hardly make sense of what he was saying and the light pants and groans coming from Ueda weren’t helping either. Grunting, Ueda reached for one of the CEO’s hands and guided it to his own mouth, “There’s no way in hell I’m doing all the work here.” He muttered before sucking on the other man’s fingers, generously coating it in saliva before lifting his hips a little and placing Taguchi’s hand on his rear.  
  
“Oh God….” Taguchi groaned and gently eased a finger in Ueda. The other man cried out and before he knew it he was already steadily pushing three fingers in and out of his lover. He didn’t know how long he could keep this up but it was as if his prayers were answered as Ueda roughly yanked his fingers away and unzipped his fly.  
  
The CEO’s brain was reduced to a pile of mush as Ueda sank himself completely onto his erection. Groaning and moaning, he didn’t even give himself any time to get used to the feeling before lifting his hips up and down on the man’s lap.  
  
It was over too soon, Taguchi could feel himself closer and closer to the edge and judging from the desperation in Ueda’s cries and movements the other man was near his end too. Taguchi groaned and reached for the back of his PA’s neck before crushing their lips together. They both groaned into the kiss, tongues messily twirling around one another as they both shook in orgasm.  
  
It took a while for them to recover. Ueda shifted and pulled Taguchi out of him but settled back in his lap with a sigh, snuggling underneath Taguchi’s chin. The CEO blinked, that was way more than he expected. He picked up his blazer from the floor and threw it over the both of them like a blanket as they calmed down. The only sounds in the room were of their heavy breaths. Taguchi didn’t know if it was minutes or hours that passed but after a while Ueda’s breath slowed down and he assumed the man had fell asleep.  
  
“I like you too.” Came the soft murmur from his chest. Taguchi blinked and looked down at the messy spikes of blond hair.  
  
“What was that, Uepi?” He asked with a small smile.  
  
Ueda grunted and lightly punched Taguchi on the chest, “I said I like you too, idiot!” He said with a blush and groaned at the annoying grin on his lover’s face. Taguchi pulled him in again for another deep kiss, “Uepii~ you said it! Did we need to have sex first for you to like me? Such a stripper thing to do…”  
  
Ueda grumbled and pulled at the man’s ear, “Don’t make change my mind about you!”  
  
  
Taguchi snorted, “Yes Boss!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the end of that! As usual comments are <3 <3 <3 and the omake should be up shortly!   
> Also I mentioned that there will be a few side stories because I don't want to leave this universe alone lol. Some might focus on JunDa as a couple (finally) as well as the other couples (Kamepi, Koyashige, etc...) When I'm posting those though, I will also post some accompanying art of scenes from this series so please do comment with your fav scene so far in this multi-chap and I'll draw art for it! 
> 
> Remember it doesn't end here, there's still the omake to look forward to! <3


	12. OMAKE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the omake! Again thanks to everyone who has been following this story (whether silent or not). Again, if you have any scene from the series that you would like drawn please leave a comment and I'll have the accompanying art posted together with the side-stories that I'm working on :D

Ueda sighed as he continued typing the post-mortem report for yet another successful office relations workshop. Ever since the job with 8Alive, Tagutive Corp was signed on to a contract to have monthly training workshops on interpersonal skills and office conduct for the company. Not only that, they received several other requests from other companies after the good news had spread about ‘Taguchi-sama’s unique and effective ways of handling employee management’.  
  
They all had their hands full but it was worth it with a satisfying job well done after every workshop they completed. Ueda groaned as he rubbed his lower back that ached slightly, while Taguchi…his boss and now his lover of two months loved to work hard, he sure knew how to play hard too.  
  
Ueda’s phone began to buzz and the PA gave a wary glance at the screen.   
  
“What is it? If you want to speak to Taguchi your counselling session isn’t till next week.” Ueda grunted into the line and only felt  _half_ guilty for the tiny squeak heard from the other side.  
  
“ _Ueda-kun you’re so crabby! Everything okay?_ ” Koyama’s soft reprimanding voice could be heard with a strange but familiar echo. Now Ueda was getting even more suspicious, he was calling from the restrooms again!  
  
“I should be asking you that. What’s going on? Did you fight with Kato or something?”  
  
 _“Oh no no, nothing like that~”_ Koyama hummed in a playful tone.  _“Did you get the email the other day? You’re coming tonight right?”_  
Ueda groaned. Oh yeah,  _that_. He was so caught up in work the past week it completely slipped his mind. And the moment Koyama mentioned it all the dread was coming back to bite at him. “I don’t want to…” He grumbled.  
  
 _“Aww, Ueda-kun~ you can’t be still shy after all these years! It’s for old time’s sake, anyway we’ve got all our friends now to come along…and also…uhm…well there’s something that we were kind of asked to do so…”_ Koyama hesitated and Ueda knew very well where this was going and there was no way in hell he’d let this happen.  
  
“NO!” He made to hang up the phone but Koyama’s squeak made him feel guilty again, “ _Pleaaase Ueda-kun! I came up with a new routine and it’s super easy! Even Shige can do it, trust me I practiced with him.”_ Koyama chirped happily and Ueda could’ve sworn he heard a grunt in the background that most likely belonged to Kato.  
  
“What are you both…ugh nevermind! Fine fine, as long as you’ll stop bugging me about it!” Ueda grunted and finally ended the call.  
“Is that about tonight’s event?” Ueda nearly jumped from his seat when he noticed Taguchi was standing right behind him. “Ugh…yeah…”  
Taguchi sighed, “You know, I’m half excited about it and half worried…if they force you to do anything you don’t want we’re getting out of there immediately.”  
  
Ueda sighed in relief, “And this is why we’re together.” Somehow he couldn’t even feel annoyed over Taguchi’s protectiveness now, not that he didn’t trust Koyama but….yeah he didn’t entirely trust the pole dancer.  
  


****************

“So this’s the place! Less trashy than I expected.” Kamenashi sniffed as they arrived at their destination.  It was situated in one of the notorious districts of Tokyo among other similarly-themed clubs. The neon lights and heavy scent of cigarettes invaded their senses as they stood at the entrance.   
  
Yamapi looped his arm around his own and smirked, reading the lewd signs plastered on the windows, “Wow if I had a boyfriend who used to work here I’d be worried.” He chuckled and gave a sideway glance at Taguchi’s mortified face.  
  
Taguchi looked up at the flickering, battered-out neon sign; ‘Wild Wolf’. He breathed a sigh of relief that Ueda was no longer working here but the fact that the previous owner invited them all back for an all-stars reunion night made him think maybe there was more to this place. He decided not to judge until he saw the place for himself. He looked around cautiously, he had split a cab with Kamenashi and Yamapi (they were now dating) and Nakamaru tagged along as well. He was even more shocked to know Tachibana and his boyfriend would be coming as well. Taguchi sighed; well he could consider this as a team ‘away day’ or something since it was a private event so hopefully they wouldn’t bump into the wrong crowd or anything.  
  
“I hate this place already.” Kato folded his arms as he walked up next to Taguchi. “It’s so noisy, why did he have to work here.” He grumbled and Taguchi resisted the urge to pat the guy on the head, he looked like he’d just woken up from sleep. “Where’s Koyama? And have you seen Uepi?” Taguchi looked around as they all entered the club.  
  
Kato nodded, “Probably backstage.” His voice was of course drowned out by the loud music blasting from the speakers.  
  
They were quickly ushered to a table right up close to the stage. It looked more professional and a lot flashier than in Akanishi’s bar. There were also several poles and more high tech lights on it. The club still smelled of cigarettes but it seemed less seedy on the inside. The crowd was relatively small considering it was a private reunion event and so the people there seemed more decent than what Taguchi had been expecting.     
  
“Shigeee!!” They all turned to see Tegoshi and Masuda approach their table. Kato’s jaw fell wide open, “HE INVITED YOU GUYS!?” The man screeched and this time Taguchi patted his back for real.  
  
Tegoshi looked around with a cheeky glint in his eyes, “Wow I would never think you and Kei-chan like to hang out at places like this, where is he anyway?”  
  
Taguchi gulped, “He…didn’t tell you guys did he?”  
  
“Tell us what?”  
  
The conversation was cut off as the music stopped and the lights began to dim.  
  
A dashing young man came to up to the stage holding a mic and looked severely overdressed for the kind of place they were at. He was clad in a full suit and there was something about him that looked so charming.  
  
“Good evening, ladies and gentleman and our ever-loyal guests. My name is Matsumoto Jun and as the owner of Wild Wolf I welcome you to our reunion night. Tonight we honour some of our best dancers throughout the years and so we’ve invited them back to the stage to perform again for one night only.”  
  
The audience cheered as Matsumoto cleared the stage to have the dancers come up. Taguchi fidgeted in his seat, well that would explain where Ueda and Koyama were right now.  He was getting more and more anxious for Ueda’s turn to come up on stage, ever since the last incident with the pole he never came back to Akanishi’s bar to dance again. He stared at the poles nervously; so far the dancers that had been on the stage haven’t been utilizing them yet.  
  
“Hey, don’t worry about Ueda. Kei promised that nothing bad will happen.” Kato tapped at his shoulder and whispered.  
  
Taguchi’s eyes grew wide, “You knew about this!?” He hissed and Kato rolled his eyes, “I’ve been trying to tell you the whole night! This place’s too noisy!” Kato fidgeted as he was trying to push away Tegoshi on his other side who had been asking him where ‘Kei-chan’ was the entire time.  
  
After a while, the stage cleared and the music began to change. Some secret-agent like music began to play and the spotlight focused on one pole at the centre of the stage.   
  
Two figures came striding on stage and Taguchi choked on his beer once he realized it was Ueda and Koyama; both covered in oversized trench coats.  
  
His eyes widened as he watched both of them saunter up to the same pole in the centre.  Once they stopped at either side of the pole, they threw open their coats revealing their bare chests covered in nothing but two vertical lines of suspenders that held up matching tight leather shorts. Taguchi and Kato gulped simultaneously.  
  
They flung their coats off stage and both trailed their fingers down either side of the pole, slowly grinding their hips against it. Koyama’s eyes flashed up at the audience and gave a wink as he circled the pole and stopped once he was behind it stroking it a few times suggestively with both hands and swaying his hips seductively. He then turned to Ueda and it looked as if he gave him a signal because then Ueda swung one leg around the pole and twirled around the base a few times before locking his thighs into position and stretched out his body on display.   
  
Taguchi gaped at how toned Ueda’s thighs looked once they were tensed up like that, in this lighting they almost looked golden.  
  
Koyama then circled around the pole and around Ueda once, rolling his hips as he moved to the music. He gripped onto the pole and vaulted himself upwards, using Ueda’s thighs as a base to hitch himself higher up on the pole. He spread his long legs wide and lewdly on display as he grinded against the pole before using his hips to lower himself to Ueda’s level and wrap his legs around the pole and the other man’s waist.  
  
Taguchi’s jaw fell wide open when they started grinding against the pole together and putting on a show. The crowd went wild as they attempted several other pair stunts according to the tempo of the music, mostly with Koyama doing the more daring maneuvers while Ueda acted as the base. Taguchi fidgeted and could see from the corner of his eye that Kato wasn’t doing any better either, the man’s face was flushed red and he was chewing on his own knuckles.  
  
Just as the music was coming to an end the two dismounted from the pole and sauntered up in front of it. Giving the pole one last stroke, they suddenly put their arms around each other.  
  
Taguchi squeaked while Kato gasped in shock as they watched their respective lovers suddenly lean in and French kissed each other as the lights went out and the crowd screamed in applause and wolf-whistles. Some even chanting for an encore.  
  
“OH.MY.GOD. SHIGE YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS RIGHT NOW! WAS THAT KEI-CHAN? HUH? HUH?” Tegoshi squealed in delight, his eyes sparkling and shaking an unresponsive Kato.  
  
“…Taguchi are you okay?” Kamenashi asked from Taguchi’s other side and watched as the man just stared into empty space in shock.  
  
Once out of his stupor Taguchi shook his head and turned to face Kato who seemed to have snapped out of it as well. “KATO-SAN! WE NEED TO HAVE OUR REVENGE!” Taguchi screeched against the loud music that came back up as another set of dancers filled the stage.  
  
“Whaat?” Kato flinched at the way Taguchi was shaking his shoulders and how Tegoshi was still shaking him from the other side as well.  
  
“Kato let’s make out!” Taguchi’s eyes were blown wide and hysterical, how could his darling Uepi betray him this way.  
  
“The fuck!? NO WAY!” Kato yelped when Tegoshi shoved his face on his shoulder, “I’ve got a better idea, Shige! Why don’t you make out with  _me!”_ The impish blond grinned before Masuda yanked him off the other.  
  
“I’M NOT MAKING OUT WITH ANYONE!” Kato shrieked.  
  
“Yeah but looks like those two are.” Masuda deadpanned and pointed over Taguchi’s shoulder where Kamenashi was making out with Yamapi.  
Taguchi huffed and took another swig of his beer, he’d make sure Ueda brush his teeth extra hard tonight if he wanted to get any.  
  
Matsumoto returned to the stage with a charming smirk on his face announcing the end of the stage show, “Now if you’d all gladly show your  _appreciation_  for our all-star dancers tonight, I’m sure they’ll return the favour.” He said with a wink and again all the dancers came out from back stage, this time they worked the floor, receiving bills being placed into their underwear from the eager audience and entertaining them.  
A few dancers came to their table and while Taguchi was having a hard time trying to fight off a rather touchy dancer dressed as a gladiator, he was finally rescued as the dancer was yanked off him. “Sorry boys, this table’s ours.” Koyama pulled rank and dismissed the other dancers before casually straddling Kato’s lap.  
  
“Did you miss me, baby?” He giggled, pressing his nose against Kato’s while subtly moving his hips. Kato huffed but his face glowed red as he wrapped his arms possessively around Koyama’s waist.  
  
Taguchi pouted as well as Ueda straddled his lap, holding the CEO’s shoulders firmly while blushing. “He made me do it.” Ueda grumbled and Taguchi puffed his cheeks, “I can’t believe you kissed him.”  
  
“He kissed me! Your training doesn’t seem to be effective enough Taguchi-san.” Ueda sighed and nuzzled against Taguchi’s neck, “I can get the CCTV footage of the club from Matsumoto-san and we can use it to have 8Alive pay us for more seminars…after you censor my face out of course.” He whispered and Taguchi grinned, he really did have a brilliant PA.  
  
“I think we should censor your whole body.” He looked at Ueda up and down wolfishly, “Now go on, do your work. Oh but no kissing until you brush your teeth. You’ve got Koya-germs all over you.”  
  
“Hey!” Koyama stretched a leg and kicked Taguchi’s knee in retaliation. “Ow!” He squeaked as Kato pinched his butt, “You shouldn’t be kicking the other customers. What kind of dancer are you?” He scolded playfully.  
  
Koyama squeaked as he felt a cold hand put a bill right at the crack of his underwear, when he glanced at the owner of the hand he huffed, “TEGOSHI!”  
  
The blond grinned, “My turn next okay?”  
  
“NO!” Koyama and Kato chorused together.  
  
Tegoshi pouted, “You guys are no fun!”  
  
Just then Matsumoto came to the stage once again with another announcement, “Ladies and gentleman, we do hope you’ve had a fun night with us at Wild Wolf. But the fun’s far from over, you’ve seen the moves, how about try it out for yourself? Our stage is now open for any amateurs or aspiring dancers! Go wild!”  
  
Tegoshi’s eyes sparkled as he stood up just as Kamenashi stood up as well, they both exchanged a look. “Want to try out a pole duet?” Kamenashi gave a catty grin. In a split second they both bounded for the stage and were all over the pole with Yamapi giving wolf-whistles and throwing bills onto the stage.  
  
Taguchi shook his head at the display, “Well…as long as everyone’s having fun ne Uepi?”  
  
Ueda nodded, “But seriously I don’t think I want to do this again. I’m tired as hell.”  
  
Taguchi chuckled, “Good. Eh where’s Nakamaru?” He noticed the empty seat and glanced around before seeing the man sneaking out of the club, holding hands with another guy he didn’t know. He caught his eye and Nakamaru froze before waving and dragging the man with him out of the club.  
  
He noted that Ueda had stopped his movements on his lap and when he checked he was fast asleep on his shoulder. Taguchi grinned and hugged his PA tighter; at least they can finally put this stripper issue behind them at last.  
  
  
  
…Hopefully.


End file.
